Use Matlab PDE toolbox from command line

Question

I would like to solve a PDE with Matlab PDE toolbox using only the command window of the system. I can create the problem and run the solver, but the PDE toolbox window pops up occaisionally and asks questions (e.g., "Do you want to save unsaved document?").

How can I avoid these popups or how can I use the PDE toolbox without opening its window?

I am using the following code. The window is pops up when I call the pdeinit function on the first line.

[pde_fig,ax]=pdeinit;
set(ax,'XLim',[-0.1 0.2]);
set(ax,'YLim',[-0.1 0.2]);
set(ax,'XTickMode','auto');
set(ax,'YTickMode','auto');

% Geometry description:
pderect([0 0.05 0.05 0],'R1');
pderect([0 0.1 0 0.1],'R2');
set(findobj(get(pde_fig,'Children'),'Tag','PDEEval'),'String','R2-R1');
...

Answer 1

The help for pdeinit is short: "Start PDETOOL from scripts." pdetool, like most *tool M-files from The MathWorks, is a GUI and the help/documentaion for it indicates as much.

I'm confused because, not only does pdeinit open a figure window, but you're using it to return handles to the figure and axis of that figure. Your code then proceeds to manipulate those handles. You can't get those handles without first creating and opening a figure. Is the issue that you just want a regular figure window instead? If so, then you can replace [pde_fig,ax]=pdeinit; with:

pde_fig = figure;
ax = gca;

You can look at the code for pdeinit: type edit pdeinit in your command window. You'll see that all it does is open pdetool (unless it's already open) and return handles to the resultant figure and axis.

Additionally, pderect will open pdetool on its own. You're using a bunch of functions that are all tied to the PDE app. Many of the tutorials and examples on The MathWorks's site use this. You might check out this article on how to solve PDEs programmatically. The examples might also be helpful.