Version 1.0.0+20240723 (Version Release Notes)
Pascal Life is an open source implementation of Conway's Game of Life cellular automata simulation.
The software is a self-contained executable program, written in Free Pascal, that runs on Microsoft Windows or Ubuntu Linux (and presumably other Linux distributions). (No separate run-time environment is required to run the program.) The Lazarus Integrated Development Environment was used to develop the program. (Both Free Pascal and the Lazarus IDE are free open-source software products.)
You can run the Pascal Life program on Microsoft Windows as follows:
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Download the PascalLife.exe binary executable file from the bin sub-folder from this GitHub.com page.
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To uninstall the program, simply delete the PascalLife.exe file.
You can run the Pascal Life program on Ubuntu Linux (and presumably other Linux distributions) as follows:
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Download the PascalLife binary executable file (with no file extension) from the bin sub-folder from this GitHub.com page.
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Ensure the PascalLife file has the executable permission. From a Files window, right-click the file, select Properties, and use the Permissions tab to enable the Execute permission. To do this in a Terminal window, use the following command:
chmod +x PascalLife
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To uninstall the program, simply delete the PascalLife binary executable file.
Double-click the downloaded copy of PascalLife.exe (on Windows) or PascalLife (on Linux) to start the simulation.
When the program starts it displays the Pascal Life form.
Here is an image of the Pascal Life form paused during a running simulation.
The Form contains these elements:
- Display Grid diplays the grid of automata cells, with dead cells in black, and live cells in lime green.
- Grid control area. Enter the desired size of the Display Grid in number of cells by typing values into the first (width) and second (height) text boxes. Click the OK button to clear and resize the Display Grid.
- Draw control area. The drop-down control contains a list of possible shapes to add to the Display Grid (see below). Click the Random check-box to generate a random pattern of live cells to the Display Grid. Click the Clear button to clear the grid to all dead cells.
- Start button starts the simulation; the button becomes a Stop button that resets the simulation and clears the Display Grid.
- Generation control area. Click the Next button to single step the simulation by a single generation. Move the Slow/Fast slider to adjust the speed of the simulation. Click the Pause button to pause a running simulation; the button becomes a Run button that will resume the simulation.
The drop-down control lists a set of possible shapes that can be added to the simulation by clicking the mouse pointer within the Display Grid.
- Cell : Click anywhere in the Display Grid to create a new live cell, or to turn an existing live cell into a dead cell. Drag the mouse pointer within the Display Grid with the left button pressed to create a series of live cells.
- Glider: This small shape migrates diagonally through the Display Grid.
- f-Pentomino: This small shape evolves into complex dynamic pattern.
- Spaceship comes in three sizes: lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight. Each version migrates horizontally across the Display Grid.
- Gosper Gun: This complex pattern evolves into a structure that emits a steady stream of migrating Glider shapes.
Download the Lazarus IDE, including Free Pascal, from here:
After installing the Lazarus IDE, clone this GitHub repository to your local disk. Then double-click on the src\PascalLife.lpr project file to open it in Lazarus.
Note: Using the debugger in the Lazarus IDE on Windows 10 might require the following configuration adjustment:
When Lazarus includes debugging information the executable file is relatively large. When ready to create a release executable, the file size can be significantly reduced by selecting the menu item Project | Project Options ... and navigating to the Compile Options | Debugging tab in the resulting dialog window. Clear the check-mark from the Generate info for the debugger option and then click the OK button. Then rebuild the executable using the Run | Build menu item (or using the shortcut key-stroke Shift-F9).
This is the initial version of the software.
Adapted from https://github.com/sto3psl/game-of-live by Fabian Gündel.