Pseudo-random number generator
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
A pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) is an algorithm that produces a sequence of bits that looks random (but cannot really be random, being algorithmically determined).
In Life, the term refers to a PRNG implemented as a Life pattern, with the bits represented by the presence or absence of objects such as gliders or blocks. Such a PRNG usually contains gliders or other spaceships in a loop with a feedback mechanism that causes later spaceships to interfere with the generation of earlier spaceships. The period can be very high, as a loop of n spaceships has 2n possible states.