{"id":175,"date":"2017-04-19T15:39:55","date_gmt":"2017-04-19T19:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/rcs\/?page_id=175"},"modified":"2026-04-09T13:59:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T17:59:07","slug":"matlab-tips","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/rcs\/rcdc\/matlab-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Matlab on Linux Servers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Matlab on Linux Servers\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

Using Parallelism in Matlab<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One way to improve MATLAB code performance is using parallelism.\u00a0 In MATLAB, the most common way to do this is to replace a slow\u00a0for<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>loop with a\u00a0parfor<\/strong> loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there are some restrictions on what loops can be converted to\u00a0parfor<\/strong>.\u00a0 Loops must be independent.\u00a0 That is, the loop iterations should be executable in any order, where the results of one iteration do not rely on previous iterations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More information on converting loops to parfor <\/strong>can be found at:\u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/www.mathworks.com\/help\/distcomp\/troubleshoot-variables-in-parfor-loops.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using the Console<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is possible to use MATLAB without its graphical interface.  In particular, on remote Linux servers it is often best to run MATLAB from the command-line and not interactively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once your MATLAB code is finished and tested, you can run it from the Linux server’s shell:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. SSH to remote server<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Change directory to your MATLAB script’s location\u00a0(<\/em>let’s assume your script is called myexample.m)<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Run this command: <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n
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    matlab -nodisplay -r ‘myexample; quit’<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    You can even put this MATLAB command in the background using techniques found at either:<\/p>\n\n\n\n