Running MATLAB function from Java

Question

I have an .m file in MATLAB which I would like to call from Java an get the solution as a string or whatever in Java. This sounds really simple but for some reason I can't make it work.

I tried this:

matlab -nosplash -wait -nodesktop -r  myFunction

but I'm not sure how I parse the answer since MATLAB opens it's own command line (in Windows).

I use this, but it doesn't return anything.

Process p = Runtime.getRuntime().exec(commandToRun);
BufferedReader stdInput = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(p.getInputStream()));

also it seems that every time I call MATLAB it opens a separate window which is a problem because I'd like to run this many times.

Answer 1

The trick is to use the MatlabControl class http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~whitehouse/matlab/JavaMatlab.html. It's very easy to use and you can do exactly what you're trying to do (and more).