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Conway's Game of Life (Terminal Screensaver)

This project is an enhanced implementation of Conway's Game of Life, a cellular automaton simulation, using the ncurses library in C. It now includes a configuration file system for easy customization.

Features

• Dynamic Grid Size: Automatically adjusts to the terminal window dimensions.
• Random Initialization: The starting state is randomly generated with a configurable density of live cells.
• Grid Edges: Supports both toroidal (wrapping) and bounded edges.
• Real-Time Visualization: Utilizes ncurses for smooth updates and rendering.
• Color Representation: Optionally displays cell age using different colors.
• Infinite Mode: Introduces periodic glider patterns to maintain activity on the grid.
• Customizable Cell Character: Users can define which character represents live cells.
• Adjustable Update Speed: The speed of the simulation can be modified.
• Configuration File: A dedicated file (game_of_life.conf) allows for easy customization of settings.

Requirements

• A C compiler (e.g., gcc)
• The ncurses library
• A UNIX-like operating system (Linux, macOS, etc.)

Usage

To compile and run the program, execute the following commands:

git clone https://github.com/cdkw2/conway-screensaver
cd conway-screensaver/
make
./conway-screensaver
sudo make install    # To install it.
make install-config    # To install the config file in to your ~/.config/conway-screensaver/

Arch Linux (AUR)

yay -S conway-screensaver

Void Linux (XBPS-SRC)

Assuming you have void-packages.

git clone https://github.com/elbachir-one/void-templates
cp -r void-templates/conway-screensaver void-packages/srcpkgs/   # Copying the gols directory that has the template.
cd void-packages/
./xbps-src pkg conway-screensaver    # To build conway-screensaver
sudo xbps-install -R hostdir/binpkgs conway-screensaver    # Installing conway-screensaver

The simulation will start automatically. Press 'q' to quit the program, or 'r' to reset the grid. Make a alias on your .bashrc or whatever file to run it anywhere.

Configuration

The program uses a configuration file named game_of_life.conf, which is located in ~/.config/conway-screensaver/ after installation. Below is an explanation of each configuration variable:

• infinite_mode: (0 or 1) Enables or disables infinite mode.
• update_interval: (microseconds) Controls the speed of the simulation.
• cell_char: The character used to represent live cells.
• max_age: The maximum age of a cell, used for color cycling.
• color_mode: (0 or 1) Enables or disables color representation of cell age.
• glider_interval: (seconds) The time interval between glider spawns in infinite mode.
• initial_density: (0.0 to 1.0) The probability of a cell being alive in the initial state.
• wrap_edges: (0 or 1) Enables toroidal grid edges when set to 1, or bounded edges when set to 0.

Example game_of_life.conf:

infinite_mode=1
update_interval=100000
cell_char=#
max_age=8
color_mode=1
glider_interval=5
initial_density=0.3
wrap_edges=1

Infinite Mode

In infinite mode, the simulation continuously introduces glider patterns at specified intervals, preventing the grid from reaching a static state and ensuring ongoing activity.

Future Ideas

• User controls for parameters like cell character, update speed, and colors.
• Additional features and optimizations to enhance user experience.
• Optimize the grid update logic to handle larger grids more efficiently.

This project offers a fun and interactive way to explore cellular automata through a terminal interface, making it not just a screensaver but also a tool for learning about complex systems.

Version 1.0.2