Linux, Compiz and MATLAB

Recently, a new version of Ubuntu was released and, being an Ubuntu user, I installed this latest version. For some time now, I've not been able to run MATLAB with the fancy window graphics switched on without displaying an almost blank (grey) screen. That is until finding a helpful post on the Ubuntu Forums.

For those that don't know, the "fancy window graphics" within Ubuntu and, from what I gather, other distributions of Linux are produced by a component known as Compiz which is capable of producing many interesting effects such as water ripples, a desktop cube plus many more effects.

The reason why MATLAB displays a grey box when Compiz is enabled is down to the way Java attempts to interact with window managers. According to one post I read, the problem arises due to the Java toolkit code assuming that all window managers re-parent windows. If a window manager (such as Compiz, Compiz Fusion, etc.) is running, then the Java toolkit waits for new windows to be re-parented before it starts handling certain events on them. Since Compiz and other window managers do not re-parent windows, the Java-based applications end up waiting forever.

There was a time, a year or two ago, where the fix consisted of altering the Java source which was awfully messy and didn't work for every distribution of Linux. This time, there's a better workaround which doesn't involve the AWT_TOOLKIT patch (which I, personally, could never get working). This one is a simple and makes use of the latest version of Sun's Java (as Sun eventually got around to patching this problem). MATLAB, by default, is shipped with its own Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and so is independent of the version that exists (or doesn't exist) on your workstation. We therefore have to override this information by typing in the following within the Terminal:

export MATLAB_JAVA=/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/jre/

This code simply exports the variable MATLAB_JAVA where it then exists for the lifespan of the Terminal window. Note that you should replace the path I've used to the latest Sun version of the Java Runtime suite.

From here, one can type in matlab -desktop or, simply, matlab (I am the proud owner of a broken installation which requires me to enter the -desktop argument). Typing this in every time you want to open up MATLAB could be described as arduous, so the creation of a script file that could do this for you sounds quite enticing.

If, like me, you enjoy creating random scripts that do numerous things (like connect via SSH with key authentication), you would probably have a folder where you store all your scripts. If not, it's not too early to start: create a new folder within your home folder by typing mkdir bin. If you're lucky, this should be added automatically to your $PATH variable for you (as it's defined within your .profile within your home directory. Next, type in cd bin where bin is the location to your script files. From the top of your head, think of a name to call MATLAB which will load everything for you; I'll pick matlabgo. Once you've decided, continue and replace matlabgo with the name of your choice. Type:

echo "export MATLAB_JAVA=/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun/jre/" > matlabgo

echo "matlab -desktop" >> matlabgo

chmod u+x matlabgo

So we've basically created the file (without use of any editor, mind you) and then changed the permissions of our link so that we can execute (and, hence, use) it. You should now be able to type in matlabgo into the Terminal and even link up shortcuts that use this script file.

For those that are interested in my source, head to: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=635142 for more information.