User`s guide

Basic Real-Time Workshop Concepts
3-3
Target and Host
A target is an environment—hardware or operating system—on which your
generated code will run. The process of specifying this environment is called
targeting.
The process of generating target-specific code is controlled by a system target
file, a template makefile, and a make command. To select a desired target, you
can specify these items individually, or you can choose from a wide variety of
ready-to-run configurations.
The host is the system you use to run MATLAB, Simulink, and Real-Time
Workshop. Using the build tools on the host, you create code and an
executable that runs on your target system.
Available Target Configurations
Real-Time Workshop supports many target environments. These include
ready-to-run configurations and third-party targets. You can also develop
your own custom target.
For a complete list of bundled targets, with their associated system target
files and template makefiles, see “Available Targets” and “The System Target
File Browser” of the Real-Time Workshop User’s Guide documentation.
Code Formats
A code format specifies a software architecture, one that is often oriented to
optimizing code generation for specific applications.
When you choose a target configuration, you implicitly choose a code format.
Most targets built into Real-Time Workshop use the embedded C format. The
embedded C code format is a compact format designed for production code
generation. Its small code size, use of static memory, and simple call
structure make it optimal for embedded applications.
Some targets use the real-time code format. This format, less compact but
more flexible, is optimal for rapid prototyping applications. The GRT target,
which used real-time code format previously to Version 6, now uses embedded
C code format with a real-time format-compatible calling interface.
For a complete discussion of available code formats, see “Generated Code
Formats” of the Real-Time Workshop User’s Guide documentation.