Run Matlab code from Python with oct2py
Python can run Matlab code using GNU Octave via
Oct2Py.
Python transparently calls Matlab/Octave .m
functions without having Matlab.
oct2py
uses GNU Octave to run most .m
code that doesn’t call proprietary Matlab toolboxes.
Shared memory (RAM) or disk (temporary file) is used to transfer data between Octave and Python.
Install
Usually Octave ≥ 4.4 is adequate for Oct2py. Newer Octave versions have improved plotting and Matlab compatibility. Here are a few different ways to install GNU Octave–pick any one way that suits you:
Windows installer
Linux (package manager):
apt install octave
oryum install octave
Linux (flatpak): install Octave via flatpak
Linux or MacOS (Homebrew):
brew install octave
Install oct2py
Python ↔ Octave module:
pip install oct2py
Note, some Octave functions require you to install their packages.
Usage
If import oct2py
does not find Octave or finds the wrong Octave, set the environment variable OCTAVE_EXECUTABLE
with the full path to the
Octave executable.
It’s generally not recommended to add Octave to the system Path on Windows, as that can interfere with MinGW or MSYS2.
On Windows, set user environment variable like (as appropriate for your PC)
OCTAVE_EXECUTABLE=C:/Octave/Octave-5.2.0/mingw64/bin/octave-cli.exe
Matlab/Octave .m
functions are transparently used from Python like:
from oct2py import Oct2Py
oc = Oct2Py()
oc.functionname(arg1,arg2,...)
You can use
- user functions (
.m
files you create) - builtin functions e.g.
svd()
- package functions e.g.
signal
fir1()
RAM drive
Oct2Py can be greatly sped up by using a RAM drive (tmpfs) instead of the system temporary directory. This may be accomplished by:
from oct2py import Oct2Py
oc = Oct2Py(temp_dir='/run/shm')
oc.functionname(arg1,arg2,...)
Of course, replace /run/shm
with your RAM drive location.
Examples
Advanced Octave functionality is split off into packages to:
- speed up Octave startup
- enhance stability and development cycles
Thus you’ll see pkg load ...
commands where appropriate.
- create/reuse an
.m
function with the appropriate input & output variables. - call this
.m
function using Oct2Py from Python
For example, Matlab/Octave fir1()
is compared in
tests/test_oct2py.py
with scipy.signal.firwin()
.
A simpler Python script example is:
from oct2py import Oct2Py
k=5
p=0.2
with Oct2Py() as oc:
oc.eval('pkg load signal')
bmat = oc.fir1(k,p)
print(bmat)
# %%
import scipy.signal
bpy = scipy.signal.firwin(k+1,p)
print(bpy)
For your own .m
files, simply call the functions with input/output arguments as in the oc.fir1()
line of this example.