glider.db
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glider.db is a database of known gliders in Life-like rules, created and originally maintained by David Eppstein. An online form-based interface to access the database was available at fano.ics.uci.edu/ca/ until 2018-2019, when the Fano server went permanently offline.[1][2] Multiple updated versions of the database have been created.
Updated versions of the database
Lim Li Xin Jed's version
A web app is available to search an updated version of glider.db, as well as several other databases.[3][4]
Note that even when the "Ignore Rule" / "Ignore Velocity" checkbox is checked, it is still necessary to enter a valid rulestring / velocity string, so that the program knows whether to search the oscillator / gliderdb and which rulespace to search.
It was last updated on November 27, 2021.
LaundryPizza03's version
LaundryPizza03 has maintained an extended version of this database (a strict superset of the web app's), last updated on June 1, 2022.[5]
File format
The database is a plain-text file, with one glider encoded per line. As an example, below are the lines describing the glider and the lightweight spaceship from Conway's Game of Life:[6]
Glider:John Conway, 1970:B3/S23:B3678/S0235678:4/2:-1:-1:3:3:bo$o$3o! Lightweight Spaceship:John Conway, 1970:B3/S23:B3468/S2378:4/2:-2:0:5:4:bo2bo$o$o3bo$4o!
Below is a copy of the description included in the header of the database:[6]
# glider.db # David Eppstein, UC Irvine Dept. Inf. & Comp. Sci. # # format: # each line consists of various fields separated by colons -- # name:discoverer:minrule:maxrule:period:dx:dy:x:y:rle # blank lines and lines beginning with '#' are ignored # # name and discoverer are arbitrary text # minrule and maxrule are of the form B3/S23 # period is either a number or number/2 (e.g. life glider is period 4/2) # dx and dy are the amounts the pattern moves in a single period # x and y are the dimensions of the rle pattern # # There are far too many gliders known even just in life to just list # them all (in fact, there are usually infinitely many types of gliders # whenever there is any). The primary reason for including a glider in # this list is to cover every known combination of speed and rules. # Secondarily, I am also including particularly small gliders, or # gliders that work unchanged in many different rules.
See also
References
- ↑ David Eppstein. "Gliders in Life-Like Cellular Automata". Fano Experimental Web Server. (archived copy; alternative link)
- ↑ Re: Catagolue Suggestions Thread (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ gliderdb-searcher
- ↑ lemon41625. Re: Spaceships in Life-like cellular automata (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ LaundryPizza03. Re: Spaceships in Life-like cellular automata (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "glider.db". Archived from the original on 2022-11-04.
See also
- jslife-moving, a spaceship collection specific to Life in particular
External links
- gliderdb-searcher -- a Web app to access an updated version of the database
- David Eppstein. "Which "Life"-Like Systems Have Gliders?".