User`s guide

Desktop Tools and Development Environment
17-3
Contents of MATLAB Root Directory
When you use file browser GUIs to navigate in the MATLAB root directory, /
Applications/MATLAB_R2008b, (known as the matlabroot directory), you cannot
directly view or access its contents. For example, when you select File > Open
and navigate to Applications/MATLAB_R2008b, no contents display. To access
the contents, press Command+Shift+G, and enter the path to the MATLAB root
directory in the resulting Go To Folder dialog box, for example, /Applications/
MATLAB_R2008b.app.
Similarly, when you select MATLAB_R2008b in the Applications folder using the
Finder, you do not see the contents. To access the contents, right-click (or Ctrl+click)
MATLAB_R2008b, and from the context menu, select Show Package Contents. For
more information, see Navigating Within the MATLAB Root Folder on Macintosh
Platforms.
Startup Options and the Start MATLAB Settings Dialog Box
You can no longer set startup options using the Start MATLAB Settings dialog box and
you can no longer start MATLAB from any .smat files you saved using Start MATLAB
Settings. The dialog box is now used only for diagnostics and only appears if MATLAB
experiences a problem during startup.
To set the startup directory in MATLAB, use the userpath function. To instruct
MATLAB to run a specified statement upon startup, start MATLAB using the matlab
command from a shell, as you would to start MATLAB on any UNIX platform. For more
information, see Startup Options.
Starting MATLAB in a Shell
In R2008b (V7.7), to start MATLAB from a shell, enter the path to the executable, /
Applications/MATLAB_R2008b.app/bin/matlab. This differs from R2008a (V7.6), in
which the path was /Applications/MATLAB_R2008a/bin/matlab.
Compatibility Considerations
The compatibility considerations are described along with the above changes.
Updated Version of JVM Software
MATLAB is now using Sun Microsystems™ JVM™ Version 6 Update 4 software on all
platforms, except the Apple Macintosh platform. If you specify a version of Java software
to use with MATLAB, this change might impact your work.