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GAME OF LIFE VERSION 1 NOVEMBER 2013
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AUTHORS & CONTACT INFORMATION
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Undergraduate Contributors---------------------------------------------------
Stephanie Pavlick -- spavlick@mit.edu
Jasmeet Arora -- jasmeet@mit.edu
Davis Tran -- dvtran@mit.edu
Graduate Mentor--------------------------------------------------------------
Will Boyd -- wboyd@mit.edu
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BRIEF OVERVIEW
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Game of Life is a cellular automata simulation. Game of Life creates a
randomized array of dead and alive cells and uses a set of rules to determine
whether each cell lives or not after each timestep.
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RULES
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1. Any live cell with fewer than two live neighbours dies, as if caused by
under-population.
2. Any live cell with two or three live neighbours lives on to the next
generation.
3. Any live cell with more than three live neighbours dies, as if by
overcrowding.
4. Any dead cell with exactly three live neighbours becomes a live cell, as if
by reproduction.
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DOWNLOAD & INSTALLATION
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Make sure numpy, hdf5, and matplotlib python modules are installed on your
Linux machine
Run the following command to download and install these modules in Debian
based Linux
>$ sudo get-apt install python-h5py python-numpy
Create a directory for the repository
Use the cd command to enter the new directory
Run the following code in the Linux terminal:
>$ git clone https://github.com/dvtranmit/Game_of_Life.git
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HOW TO RUN GAME OF LIFE
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The Game of Life program is stored as "gol.py" in the downloaded repository.
Basic Simulation---------------------------------------------------------
To run the program without modifications, use the following command:
>$ python gol.py
Changing Board Size------------------------------------------------------
To change the board size of the simulation:
>$ python gol.py -x "--x-dimension--" -y "--y-dimension--"
Where the user should replace "--x-dimension--" with the desired x-
dimesension of the board and "--y-dimension--" with the desired
y-dimension of the board. The user may also change just one parameter
by using either command by itself.
Acceptable Input: Entering anything other than a positive integer
may break the program.
Changing Number Of Time Steps--------------------------------------------
To change the number of time steps of the simulation:
>$ python gol.py -t "--timesteps--"
Where the user should replace "--timesteps--" with the desired number
of timesteps for the simulation.
Acceptable Input: Entering anything other than a positive integer may
break the program.
Changing Sleep Time-------------------------------------------------------
To change the sleep times of the simulation:
>$ python gol.py -s "--sleep time--"
Where the user should replace "--sleep time--" with the disired sleep
time for the simulation.
Acceptable Input: Entering anything other than a positive integer may
break the program.
Storing and Naming HDF5 File Name------------------------------------------
To create a new file or overwrite an old file with simulation data:
>$ python gol.py -f "--filename--"
Where the user should replace "--filename--" with the desired file name
for the hdf5 (binary) file.
Running the Simulation From an Existing File-------------------------------
To run the simulation from an existing file:
>$ python gol.py -i "--existingfile--"
Where the user should replace "--existingfile--" with the desired file
name of the existing HDF5 Game of Life file.
Acceptable Input: Entering anything other than the name of an existing
file (for example: naming a non-existent file, a non-HDF5 file, or a
file unrelated to Game of Life) will break the program.
Combining Commands----------------------------------------------------------
As with many other functions in Linux bash, these commands may be
combined.
Default Settings------------------------------------------------------------
x-dimension = 20 cells
y-dimension = 20 cells
timesteps = 10 timesteps
sleep time = 0.5 seconds
file name = gol_data_MM/DD/YY_HH:MM:SS
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_____ _____ _________ _____ ______ ____ _ _ ____ _____
| ____| | ___ | | _ _ | | ____| | ____ | | ___| | | | | | ___| | ____|
|| _ | | | | | | | | | | ||____ | | | | | |__ | | | | | |__ | |___
|| | | | |_| | | | | | | | | ____| | | | | | ___| | | | | | ___| | ____|
||__| | | | | | | | | | | | | |___ | |__| | | | | |___ | | | | | |___
|_____| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_| |_____| |______| |_| |_____||_| |_| |_____|
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