Technion – Electrical Engineering Department

May 2004
Signal and Image Processing Laboratory

Written By:
Yair Moshe

GUI with Matlab - Outline

1. Basic Graphics
2. Animation
3. Handle Graphics Objects
4. Creating GUI using GUIDE

1
1. Basic Graphics

• 2-D Plotting
• The Figure Window
• Data Statistics & Curve Fitting
• Subplots & Scales for Axes
• Specialized Plotting Routines
• 3-D Plotting
• Images
3

2-D Plotting
x=0:.1:2*pi;
x=0:.1:2*pi;
y=sin(x);
y=sin(x);
plot(x,y)
plot(x,y)
grid
grid onon
hold
hold onon
plot(x, exp(-x), 'r:*
plot(x, exp(-x), r:*'))
axis([0
axis([0 2*pi
2*pi 00 1])
1])
title('2-D
title( Plot'))
2-D Plot
xlabel( Time'))
xlabel( 'Time
ylabel('Sin(t)
ylabel( Sin(t) '))
text(pi/3, sin(pi/3), '<--sin(\pi/3)
text(pi/3, sin(pi/3), <--sin(\pi/3) '))
legend('Sine
legend( Wave',,
Sine Wave
'Decaying Exponential'))
Decaying Exponential
4

2
Line Characteristics
Specifier Line Color Specifier Marker Style
b blue . point
g green o circle
r red x x-mark
c cyan + plus
m magenta * star
y yellow s square
k black d diamond
v triangle down
Specifier Line Style ^ triangle up
- solid < triangle left
: dotted > triangle right
-. dashdot p pentagram
-- dashed h hexagram

The Figure Window

The figure window contains useful actions in its menu
and toolbars:
• Zooming in and out
• Rotating 3-D axes (and other camera actions)
• Copying & pasting
• Plot Edit Mode
• Property Editor
• Saving & Exporting
– Figures can be saved in a binary .fig file format
– Figure can be exported to many standard graphics file formats etc.,
GIF, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PCX, EPS.
• Printing

3
Data Statistics & Curve Fitting

• The Data Statistics Tool:

– Calculates basic statistics about the central tendency and
variability of data plotted in a graph
– Plots any of the statistics in a graph
• The Basic Fitting Interface:
– Fits data using a spline interpolant, a shape-preserving
interpolant, or a polynomial up to degree 10
– Plots multiple fits simultaneously for a given data set
– Examines the numerical results of a fit
– Annotates the plot with the numerical fit results and the norm
of residuals

Subplots & Scales for Axes

subplot(2,2,1)
subplot(2,2,1)
x=0:.1:2*pi;
x=0:.1:2*pi;
plot(x,
plot(x, exp(-x))
exp(-x))

subplot(2,2,2)
subplot(2,2,2)
semilogy(x,
semilogy(x, exp(-x))
exp(-x))

subplot(2,2,3)
subplot(2,2,3)
x=0:.1:2*pi;
x=0:.1:2*pi;
plot(x,
plot(x, sin(x))
sin(x))

subplot(2,2,4)
subplot(2,2,4)
plot(peaks)
plot(peaks)
8

4
Specialized Plotting Routines

3-D Plotting

z = 0:0.1:10*pi;
x = exp(-z/20).*cos(z);
y = exp(-z/20).*sin(z);
plot3(x,y,z,'LineWidth',2)
grid on
xlabel('x')
ylabel('y')
zlabel('z')

10

5
3-D Meshes and Surfaces

11

3-D Meshes and Surfaces

12

6
Images

[x,map]=imread('flowers.tif');
image(x)
colormap(map)

13

Images

a = magic(4);
image(a);
map = hsv(16);
colormap(map)
colorbar

14

7
2. Animation

• On the Fly Animation

• Frame by Frame Animation

15

Animation

Matlab provides two ways of generating moving,

animated graphics:
1. On the fly - Continually erase and then redraw the
objects on the screen, making incremental changes
with each redraw.
2. Frame by frame capture and playback - Save a
number of different pictures and then play them
back as a movie.

16

8
On the Fly Animation

Example for on the fly animation:

tt == 0:0.01:10*pi;
0:0.01:10*pi; xx == t.*sin(t);
t.*sin(t); yy == t.*cos(t);
t.*cos(t);
axislimits
axislimits == [min(x)
[min(x) max(x)
max(x) min(y)
min(y) max(y)
max(y) min(t)
min(t) max(t)];
max(t)];

line_handle
line_handle == plot3(x(1),
plot3(x(1), y(1),t(1),
y(1),t(1), 'ko', ...
'MarkerFaceColor',[.49
'MarkerFaceColor',[.49 11 .63],
.63], 'MarkerSize',12);
'MarkerSize',12);
set(line_handle,
set(line_handle, 'erasemode','xor');
'erasemode','xor');
axis(axislimits);
axis(axislimits);
grid
grid on on
for
for ii == 2:length(x)
2:length(x)
set(line_handle,
set(line_handle, 'xdata',x(i), 'ydata', y(i), 'zdata', t(i));
drawnow;
drawnow;
end
end 17

Frame by Frame animation

Example for frame by frame movie creation and playing:

[x,y]
[x,y] == meshgrid([-10:0.5:10]);
meshgrid([-10:0.5:10]);
for
for jj == 1:15
1:15
zz == bessel(0,
bessel(0, (j-1)*0.2
(j-1)*0.2 ++ sqrt(x.^2
sqrt(x.^2 +y.^2));
+y.^2));
surf(x,y,z)
surf(x,y,z)
axis([-10
axis([-10 1010 -10
-10 10
10 -.5
-.5 1])
1])
M(j)
M(j) == getframe;
getframe;
end
end

frame_order
frame_order == [1:15
[1:15 14:-1:1];
14:-1:1];
number_repeats
number_repeats == 5;5;
movie(M,
movie(M, [number_repeats
[number_repeats frame_order]);
frame_order]);
18

9
3. Handle Graphics

• Handle Graphics Objects

• Graphics Objects Hierarchy
• Obtaining an Object’s Handle
• Modifying Object Properties

19

Handle Graphics Objects

• Handle Graphics is an object-oriented structure for

creating, manipulating and displaying graphics
• Graphics in Matlab consist of objects
• Every graphics objects has:
– a unique identifier, called handle
– a set of properties which define its appearance

20

10
 Graphics Objects Hierarchy

Objects are organized into a tree-structure hierarchy:

21

Graphics Objects Hierarchy

Figure
Object
UIMenu
Objects

Surface
Object UIControl
Objects

Patch
Object

Text
Objects

22

11
Obtaining an Object’s Handle

• Upon creation, for example:

– h = plot(x_data, y_data, …)
• Using utility functions:
– 0 - root object handle (the screen)
– gcf – returns the handle for current figure
– gca - returns the handle for current axes
– gco - returns the handle for current object
– gcbf - returns the handle for callback figure
– gcbo - returns the handle for callback object

23

Modifying Object Properties

• Return a list of all object properties and their current values:
– get(handle)
• Return a list of all user-settable object properties and their current values:
– set(handle)
• Return current value of an object property:
– get(handle, ‘PropertyName’)
– Example: get(gcf, 'Color')
• Return a list of all possible values for an object property:
– Set(handle,’PropertyName’)
– Example: set(gca, 'XDir')
• Set an object property to a new value:
– set(handle, ‘PropertyName’, ‘NewValue’)
– Example: set(gca, 'XDir', 'Reverse')
• All the above can also be done (but not at runtime) using the Property Editor

24

12
Example – Figure Position
space
space == 5;
5;
top_space
top_space == 80;
80;
scn_size
scn_size == get(0,'ScreenSize');
get(0,'ScreenSize');

pos1
pos1 == [space,
[space, 2/3*scn_size(4)
2/3*scn_size(4) ++ space,...
space,...
scn_size(3)/2
scn_size(3)/2 -- 2*space,
2*space, scn_size(4)/3
scn_size(4)/3 -- (top_space
(top_space ++ space)];
space)];
pos2
pos2 == [pos1(1)
[pos1(1) ++ scn_size(3)/2,
scn_size(3)/2, pos1(2),...
pos1(2),...
pos1(3),
pos1(3), pos1(4)];
pos1(4)];

h1
h1 == figure(1);
figure(1);
peaks;
peaks;
h2
h2 == figure(2);
figure(2);
membrane;
membrane;

set(h1,
set(h1, 'Position',
'Position', pos1)
pos1)
set(h2,
set(h2, 'Position',
'Position', pos2)
pos2)

25

4. Creating GUI using GUIDE

• What is GUIDE?
• Creating a GUI
• The Layout Editor
• Hands-On GUIDE Example
• Writing Callbacks

26

13
What is GUIDE?

• GUIDE is Matlab’s Graphics User Interface (GUI)

Design Environment
• GUIDE stores GUIs in two files, which are generated
the first time you save or run the GUI:
– .fig file - contains a complete description of the GUI figure
layout and the components of the GUI
• Changes to this file are made in the Layout Editor
– .m file - contains the code that controls the GUI
• You can program the callbacks in this file using the M-file Editor

27

Creating a GUI

Typical stages of creating a GUI are:

1. Designing the GUI
2. Laying out the GUI
– Using the Layout Editor
3. Programming the GUI
– Writing callbacks in the M-file Editor
4. Saving and Running the GUI

28

14
The Layout Editor
Alignment Menu
The Layout Editor looks like this: Tool Editor
M-File
Editor

Run Button
Component
Palette Object Browser

Property
Inspector

Layout Area

Figure
Resize Tab

29

Hands-On GUIDE Example

Example:

30

15
Writing Callbacks
A callback is a sequence of commands that are execute when a graphics
object is activated
• Stored in the GUI’s M-file
• Is a property of a graphics object (e.g. CreateFnc, ButtonDwnFnc,
Callback, DeleteFnc)
• Also called event handler in some programming languages

A callback is usually made of the following stages:

1. Getting the handle of the object initiating the action (the object
provides event / information / values)
2. Getting the handles of the objects being affected (the object that
whose properties are to be changed)
3. Getting necessary information / values
4. Doing some calculations and processing
5. Setting relevant object properties to effect action

31

Writing Callbacks

Callback from example:

%% ---
--- Executes
Executes onon button
button press
press in
in plot_button.
plot_button.
function
function plot_button_Callback(hObject,
plot_button_Callback(hObject, eventdata,
eventdata, handles)
handles)
%% hObject
hObject handle
handle to
to plot_button
plot_button (see
(see GCBO)
GCBO)
%% eventdata
eventdata reserved
reserved -- to
to be
be defined
defined inin aa future
future version
version of
of MATLAB
MATLAB
%% handles
handles structure
structure with
with handles
handles and
and user
user data
data (see
(see GUIDATA)
GUIDATA)

%% Get
Get user
user input
input from
from GUI
GUI
f1
f1 == str2double(get(handles.f1_input,'String'));
str2double(get(handles.f1_input,'String'));
f2
f2 == str2double(get(handles.f2_input,'String'));
str2double(get(handles.f2_input,'String'));
tt == eval(get(handles.t_input,'String'));
eval(get(handles.t_input,'String'));

%
% Calculate
Calculate data
data
…
…

%
% Create
Create frequency
frequency plot
plot
axes(handles.frequency_axes)
axes(handles.frequency_axes) %% Select
Select the
the proper
proper axes
axes
plot(f,m(1:257))
plot(f,m(1:257))
xlabel('Frequency');
xlabel('Frequency');
set(handles.frequency_axes,'XMinorTick','on')
set(handles.frequency_axes,'XMinorTick','on')
grid
grid on
on 32
…
…

16
Further Information

1. The Mathworks, Using Matlab Graphics

2. The Mathworks, Creating Graphics User Interfaces
3. Marchand Patrick, Holland Thomas O., Graphics
and GUIs with Matlab, 3ed, 2003, CRC Press

The documents from Mathworks could be found on:

http://www.mathworks.com/access/helpdesk/help/techdoc/matlab.shtml
Most of this info can also be found in Matlab’s help

33

34

17