life(6) life(6)NAME life - plays the game of life SYNOPSIS life [-r] ARGUMENTS -r Treats the screen as a torus; that is, the top and bottom lines and the left and right columns are considered adjacent. DESCRIPTION life is a pattern-generating game set up for interactive use on a video terminal. To play the game, you use a series of commands to set up a pattern on the screen and then let it generate further patterns from that pattern. For each square in the matrix, look at it and its 8 adjacent neighbors. If the present square is unoccupied and exactly 3 of its neighboring squares are occupied, then that square will be occupied in the next pattern. If the present square is occupied and 2 or 3 of its neighboring squares are occupied, then that square will be occupied in the next pattern. Otherwise, the present square will not be occupied in the next pattern. The edges of the screen are normally treated as an unoccupied void. The pattern generation number and the number of occupied squares are displayed in the lower left corner of the screen. Following is a list of commands available to the user. In these descriptions, m and n may be replaced by any numbers. m,na Adds a block of elements. The first number specifies the horizontal width and the second number specifies the vertical height. If a number is not specified, the default is 1. nc Steps through the next n patterns. If no number is specified, step forever. The operation can be cancelled by typing an interrupt. m,nd Deletes a block of elements. The first number specifies the horizontal width and the second number specifies the vertical height. If a number is not specified, the default is 1. nf Generates a little flier at the present location. The number (modulo 8) determines the direction. January 1992 1
life(6) life(6)m,ng Moves to absolute screen location. The first number specifies the horizontal location and the second number specifies the vertical location. If a number is not specified, the default is 0. nh Moves left n steps. If no number is specified, the default is 1. nj Moves down n steps. The default is 1. nk Moves up n steps. The default is 1. nl Moves right n steps. The default is 1. nn Steps through the next n patterns. If no number is specified, generate the next pattern. The operation can be cancelled by typing an interrupt. p Puts the last yanked or deleted block at the present location. q Quits the game. m,ny Yanks a block of elements. The first number specifies the horizontal width and the second number specifies the vertical height. If a number is not specified, the default is 1. C Clears the pattern. nF Generates a big flier at the present location. The number (modulo 8) determines the direction. nH Moves to the left margin. nJ Moves to the bottom margin. nK Moves to the top margin. nL Moves to the right margin. nCONTROL-H Moves left n steps. If no number is specified, the default is 1. nCONTROL-J Moves down n steps. The default is 1. nCONTROL-K Moves up n steps. The default is 1. nCONTROL-L 2 January 1992
life(6) life(6)Moves right n steps. The default is 1. CONTROL-R Redraws the screen. This is used for those occasions when the terminal screws up. . Repeats the last add (a) or delete (d) operation. ; Repeats the last move (h, j, k, l) operation. LIMITATIONS The following features are planned but not implemented. m,nS Saves the selected area in a file. R Restores from a file. m Generates a macro command. ! Escapes the shell. e Edits a file. i Inputs commands from a file. FILES /usr/games/life Executable file January 1992 3