python-lifelib 2.1.11

Algorithms for manipulating and simulating patterns in cellular automata

What is lifelib?

lifelib is a collection of algorithms for simulating and manipulating patterns in cellular automata. It can be included in your project in either of two ways:

• Python package: lifelib can be imported as a Python package, and is compatible with both Python 2.7 and Python 3.5 (and beyond). We recommend this for everyday use, as the Python bindings are more user-friendly.

• C++ header files: if you have a project written in C++11 or above, specific components of lifelib may be included. This approach is used by the [apgsearch](https://gitlab.com/apgoucher/apgmera) soup searcher and the [slmake](https://gitlab.com/apgoucher/slmake) glider synthesis compiler. Note that lifelib is header-only owing to the use of templates.

System requirements

For lifelib to work, you need a computer with an x86-64 processor. This includes most personal computers, but not smartphones, tablets, or the Raspberry Pi.

It runs easily in a POSIX environment, such as:

• Linux / Unix;

• Mac OS X;

• Windows (using Cygwin);

• Windows 10 (using WSL);

and requires a C++ compiler (gcc or clang) and Python (ideally with numpy).

The Python version of lifelib can actually run in Windows’ native Python (e.g. Anaconda). A suitable Cygwin installation still needs to exist on the machine and be locatable by lifelib; the Python package contains a function (lifelib.install_cygwin()) to automatically and painlessly handle this.

Documentation

• [Quick start][1]

• [Installation notes][2]

• [The structure of lifelib][3]

• [Example usage for Python][4]

• [Editing patterns][5]

• [Analysing and viewing patterns][6]

[1]: https://gitlab.com/apgoucher/lifelib/blob/master/doc/quickstart.md [2]: https://gitlab.com/apgoucher/lifelib/blob/master/doc/install.md [3]: https://gitlab.com/apgoucher/lifelib/blob/master/doc/structure.md [4]: https://gitlab.com/apgoucher/lifelib/blob/master/doc/exampleusage.md [5]: https://gitlab.com/apgoucher/lifelib/blob/master/doc/editing.md [6]: https://gitlab.com/apgoucher/lifelib/blob/master/doc/analysis.md

Future directions

• Currently lifelib is specific to 64-bit x86 architecture; ideally support for other architectures will be introduced.