README.md

Simple Automata

Try it out, here.

Simple Automata is a library for creating simple cellular automata, using the same ruleset from Stephen Wolframs A New Kind of Science. It supports a two dimensional environment where each block (or "cell") is an automata. Going from top to bottom, each row is generated based on the state of the previous row. Using this library, you have a choice of 256 different rules and various starting conditions.

Installation

This library should run anywhere you can run JavaScript. More specifically, if you can use a JS Canvas, you can use this library. You can imbed it directly in a page or install it via NPM.

Direct Injection (CDN)

<script src = "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/simple-automata@latest/dist/cdn/index.js"/>

NPM

npm install --save simple-automata

Usage

To create an automata, just specify the id of the element you want it to appear in, the type of start condition, the rule you want to use, and any necessary options. Note: an instance of the Automata class will fill to fit the size of its container. Therefore, you should style the container's CSS appropriately.

// in an ES6 environment ...
import Automata from 'simple-automata';

// ... then when you have it available

let auto = new Automata(
    my_container_id, // string
    rule_type,  // string, 'simple' | 'random'
    rule_num, // number, 0-255
    options // object
)

Options

The most important options have to do with the starting condition. All options objects require a height and a width (in blocks), like so.

let auto = new Automata(
    'test-id',
    'simple', 
    30, 
    {
        width: 50,
        height: 50,
})

On the wild side, you can opt for a 'random' starting condition. you have to include a density property in your options object.

let auto = new Automata(
    'test-id', 
    'random', 
    30, 
    {
        width: 50,
        height: 50,
        density: 0.5,
})