Life

by Patrick Foy and Dave Short

About

Life is a simple life simulator. The board is divided into square cells. Whether the cells live or die is based on how many neighbors a cell has:

• If a living cell has 2 or 3 neighbors, it survives.
• If a living cell has fewer than 2 neighbors, it dies of loneliness. If it has more than 3, it dies of overcrowding.
• A dead cell with exactly 3 neighbors becomes alive.

Complex behavior can result from these simple rules – see the splash screen for examples.

Running

To run this program, navigate to its directory with the terminal. Run the following commands:

	javac *.java
	java gui

Keys

space — pauses / unpauses evolution.
/ (slash) — steps forward one generation at a time.

delete key — clears the board.
number keys 2–0 — Creates a random board where the probability is 1 in x that a cell is alive (0 = 10).

Left and Right Arrow Keys — Increase / Decrease Zoom.
Up and Down Arrow Keys — Increase / Decrease Speed.

Number Pad 8,2,4,6 — Scroll around the board.
Number Pad 5 — Reset Zoom and Scroll to default.

Page Up / Page Down — Increase vertical board size.
Insert / End — Increase horizontal board size.

G — Toggles the grid.

S — Saves board.
O — Opens a board file.

You can use the mouse to toggle cells on or off.