Cellular Automaton

Cellular Automaton
- Features
- Rules
- Installation
- Usage
  - Examples
- Patterns
- Controls
- Implementation Details
- License
- Contributing

demo

A sophisticated cellular automaton implemented in Crystal, combining elements from Brian's Brain and Conway's Game of Life. This implementation features three distinct states (Alive, Dying, and Dead) and supports various predefined patterns including oscillators, spaceships, and the famous Gosper Glider Gun.

Features

Three-state cellular automaton (Alive, Dying, Dead)
Multiple pre-defined patterns:
- Oscillators (Blinker, Beacon, Pulsar)
- Spaceships (Glider, Lightweight Spaceship)
- Still Life (Block, Beehive)
- Gosper Glider Gun
Colorized terminal output (Green for alive, Yellow for dying, Gray for dead)
Real-time statistics tracking
Configurable grid size and simulation speed
Toroidal grid (wraps around edges)
Random pattern placement

Rules

For Living Cells (Green):
- Dies if fewer than 2 or more than 3 alive neighbors
- Enters dying state if surrounded by 4 or more dying neighbors
- Otherwise stays alive
For Dying Cells (Yellow):
- 30% chance to revive if exactly 2 alive neighbors
- Otherwise becomes dead
For Dead Cells (Gray):
- Becomes alive if exactly 3 alive neighbors
- Becomes alive if 2 alive neighbors and 2+ dying neighbors
- Otherwise stays dead

Installation

Requires Crystal language installed on your system.

git clone https://github.com/omarluq/cellular-automaton.git
cd cellular-automaton

Usage

crystal run main.cr [arguments]

Arguments:
  --rows=ROWS        Number of rows (default: 50)
  --cols=COLS        Number of columns (default: 50)
  --gens=GENS        Number of generations (default: 1000)
  --delay=SECONDS    Delay between generations (default: 0.1)
  -h, --help        Show help message

Examples

Run with default settings:

crystal run main.cr

Create a larger grid with faster updates:

crystal main.cr --rows=100 --cols=100 --delay=0.05

Run a quick simulation:

crystal main.cr --rows=30 --cols=40 --gens=100 --delay=0.1

Patterns

The simulation includes several pre-defined patterns that you can experiment with:

Oscillators:
- Blinker: Simple 3-cell oscillator
- Beacon: 4x4 oscillator
- Pulsar: Large 13x13 oscillator
Spaceships:
- Glider: Basic moving pattern
- Lightweight Spaceship (LWSS): Larger moving pattern
Still Life:
- Block: 2x2 stable pattern
- Beehive: 4x3 stable pattern
Guns:
- Gosper Glider Gun: Continuously produces gliders

Controls

The simulation runs automatically once started
Use Ctrl+C to exit
The display shows:
- Current generation number
- Count of alive cells (■)
- Count of dying cells (▨)
- Count of dead cells (□)