Compiling Linux FMUs with Dymola

Installation guide for cross compilation in Dymola

Even though Dymola natively supports cross-compilation since version 2022, additional programs must be installed before first use:

• First, Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) must be installed. To do this, start the command prompt as administrator and execute the following command:
  wsl --install -d Ubuntu‍
  The PC must be restarted afterwards. Here you can find more information about the installation of WSL.‍
• After the restart, WSL should open automatically in the form of a command prompt. If WSL does not open automatically, it must be started manually. When WSL is started for the first time, the user is prompted to create an account and password (note: the password is not displayed on the command line).
• Several packages must be installed in WSL. To do this, the following commands are executed one after the other:
  sudo apt update
  sudo apt upgrade
  sudo apt install gcc g++ zip dos2unix
  The WSL window can be closed after the successful execution of the commands.
• Finally, the cross-compiler can be tested. To do this, Dymola is started and the Linux cross-compiler is selected under Simulation\Setup\Compiler tab. With Verify Compiler the test of the cross-compiler is executed:

• A successful test is confirmed by Dymola as follows (Important: The compiler must be reset to the original setting afterwards!):

If you get an error message instead of the pictured message, WSL may not have write permissions. To grant WSL write permissions, the wsl.conf file must be edited:

• Open the wsl.conf file in WSL:
  ‍sudo vim /etc/wsl.conf
• Entering the letter i activates the edit mode. The following text must be written to the file:
  [automount]
  options = "metadata"
• Afterwards, the editing mode can be terminated by pressing Esc. The command
  :wq
  saves and closes the file. After that the PC must be restarted.

For more information, please refer to the Dymola user manual.

Compiling a Linux FMU

To create a Linux FMU, the option Cross compile for Linux must be selected in the Export FMU window (Simulatation\Translate\FMU):

If you open the FMU afterwards (FMUs are packaged as .zip files), you will see three folders in the binaries directory:

This shows that the FMU has been compiled for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows (win32 and win64) as well as 64-bit Linux (linux64). The FMU can thus be executed on Windows as well as on 64-bit Linux.

¹ Exception: So-called source code FMUs. Source code FMUs are not compiled, but are available in the form of C code. Source code FMUs are thus not bound to an operating system.