.. currentmodule:: brian.experimental.codegen

.. _experimental-codegen:

Code generation
===============

Brian has support for automatic generation of C code, detailed in :ref:`compiled-code`.
We also have experimental support for C code generation
more widely, implementing the algorithms described
in `Goodman (2010) <http://www.springerlink.com/content/12614h7817602680/>`__.
This support can be activated using the ``usecodegen*``, ``usenewpropagate``
and ``usecstdp`` global preferences
(see :ref:`preferences`).

Note that not all code will run without problems using code generation yet, but
in most cases it will and speed improvements can be very substantial, especially
for STDP.

References
----------

* `Goodman DFM (2010) <http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000993>`__.
  Code Generation: A Strategy for Neural Network Simulators.
  Neuroinformatics 8, no. 3 (9). doi:10.1007/s12021-010-9082-x.
  [`pdf <http://dl.dropbox.com/u/556426/codegen.pdf>`__]