Life requires a browser with JavaScript support; it has been tested with
- Macintosh OS X:
Safari 2.0;
Firefox [no?: 1.0.4];
Internet Explorer 5.2.3;
AOL 10.3
- Macintosh OS 9:
Netscape 4.7, 4.5, 4.0.8, 3.0.4 [no: 2.0];
Internet Explorer 5.0, 4.5;
AOL 4.0 [no: 3.0]
- Windows:
Internet Explorer 6.0, 5.0, 4.0 [no: 3.0]
Firefox 1.0.4;
Netscape 7.2, 4.0.8 , 3.0 [no: 6.0];
AOL 9.0, 7.0, 4.0
Opera 8.0
Let me know about your experience with other browsers.
If Images are not loaded automatically, you'll have to Load/Show Images manually after (re)loading page
What is Life? |
Using Life |
Examples |
Versions |
Distribution |
Contacting Author
Life is a mathematical simulation (game) described by John Conway in
Scientific American in Oct. 1970.
Several rules are used
to create a next generation from a cell's 8 neighbors:
0|0|0
0|?|0
0|0|0
- Survival
- a cell with 2 or 3 neighbors survives
- Death
- a cell with 1 or less, or 4 or more neighbors, dies
- Birth
- an empty cell with exactly 3 neighbors will be born
- Pat:
- pattern to add
- Clear
- clear all cells, reset Gen counter
- Next
- evolve a single generation
- Gen
- Generation counter
- Repeat/Stop
- evolve until all cells are empty or static, or you tap Stop or Clear
- click in a cell
- add current pattern (Pat); if dot, toggles the cell.
Note: if this doesn't work in older browsers, use the following controls:
- Add
- add the current pattern (incl. dot) at current X,Y location. Note: 0,0 is left,upper corner
- L-
- move one cell left; if Pat is dot and Auto Dot is on, automatically add dot there
- X:
- current X(column) location. Enter a number between 0-29
- R+
- move one cell right (see L)
- U-
- move one cell up (see L)
- Y:
- current Y(row) location. Enter a number between 0-29
- D+
- move one cell down (see L)
- Auto Dot?
- if on and Pat is dot, automatically add dot with L/R/U/D buttons
Note: grid area is currently 30x30 (adding more rows is easy; more columns would be more work).
Larger patterns run more slowly in general; they also refresh more slowly in NN.
If clicking in grid area does not add pattern in older browsers,
these commands allow you to add cells:
...to try (some in pattern picker):
- blinker: flips
OOO
- glider: down&left 1 in 4 steps
O
O
OOO
- block: stable
OO
OO
- beehive: stable
OO
O O
OO
- 5 long: turns into "traffic lights" (4 blinkers) in 9 steps
OOOOO
- 7 long: "honey farm" (4 beehives)
OOOOOOO
- 9 long: double traffic lights
OOOOOOOOO
- a pattern page
- a pattern/link page
Last updated: 21 Jun 2005:
updated syntax via JSLint and tested with newer browsers
This version is free, and can be downloaded locally and mirrored in its entirety.
If you copy/modify/improve the code, I would appreciate an acknowledgment
of this version and link to this page.
© 1999-2007, S. Weyer. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
