how to open an application file in matlab after checking that the application is not already currently running in matlab

To open an application file in MATLAB only if the application is not already running, you can use the following approach:

1. Use the system function in MATLAB to check if the application is currently running or not.
2. If the application is not running, use the eval function to open the application file in MATLAB.

Here is an example code snippet that demonstrates the above approach:

main.m
appName = 'example.exe';  % replace with your application file name

% Check if the application is already running
[status, result] = system(['tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq ' appName '"']); 

if status == 0 && isempty(strfind(result, appName))
    % Application is not running, open it in MATLAB
    eval(['!start ' appName]);  % replace `start` with the appropriate command to open the application on your operating system
else
    disp('Application already running');
end
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Make sure to replace 'example.exe' with the actual name of your application file. Also, modify the !start command based on the command needed to open the application on your operating system.

Note that this approach relies on the tasklist command on Windows to check if the application is running. If you are using a different operating system, you may need to modify the command accordingly.

Please note that running external applications from MATLAB has some security considerations. Be cautious about the applications you open and ensure that they are from trusted sources.

Hope this helps!