R/game_of_life.R

In alextkalinka/gameRlife: John Conway's cellular automata 'Game of Life' in R

#' game_of_life
#' 
#' Run John Conway's cellular automata Game of Life.
#' 
#' @param seed An nx2 matrix containing the co-ordinates of `n` seeds for the game.
#' @param num_gens An integer specifying the number of generations of evolution in the game.
#' @param board_size An integer specifying the size of the 2D array. Defaults to 50.
#' @param animate Logical indicating whether to animate the game (defaults to `TRUE`).
#' @param torify Logical indicating whether the board should be wrapped up into a torus to prevent inconsistencies at the edges (defaults to `TRUE`).
#' 
#' @return An object of class `gameRlife`. Can be used for the side-effect of animating the cellular automata as they evolve.
#' @author Alex Kalinka, \email{alex.t.kalinka@@gmail.com}
#' @export
game_of_life <- function(seed, num_gens, board_size = 50, animate = TRUE, torify = TRUE){
  board <- matrix(0, board_size, board_size)
  board[seed] <- 1
  # Seed generation board data frame.
  bdf <- gameRlife::board_df(board, board_size, 0)
  for(i in 1:num_gens){
    cat(paste("Evolving...generation",i,"\r"))
    # 1. Update the board according to the rules.
    board <- gameRlife::update_board(board, torify)
    # 2. Convert board into data frame for storage and visualization.
    bdf <- rbind(bdf, gameRlife::board_df(board, board_size, i))
  }
  cat("\n")
  # Build ggplot2 object.
  gpl <- gameRlife::build_ggboard(bdf, board_size)
  # Animate.
  gan <- gameRlife::build_gganimate_board(gpl, num_gens)
  if(animate) print(gan)
  # Return object.
  ret <- list(seed = seed,
              board_size = board_size,
              num_gens = num_gens,
              board_DF = bdf,
              board_ggplot2 = gpl,
              board_gganimate = gan)
  class(ret) <- "gameRlife"
  return(ret)
}