Directives

All directives are optional.

Automaton directives

@states

The number of states in the automaton.

Status:

Partially implemented; more functionality planned
Type:

Int
Default value:

2
Examples:
  • @states 4
  • @states 256
@radius

The maximum extent of the neighborhood used by the transition function, measured using Chebyshev distance.

Status:

Fully implemented
Type:

Int (nonnegative)
Default value:

1
Examples:
  • @radius 2
@transition

The transition function for the automaton.

TODO: describe special variables this, neighborhood, and nbhd.

Status:Fully implemented
Type:Code block
Default value:{ remain }
Examples:See Examples
@pattern

A default pattern for the automaton, specified as RLE.

Status:

Not yet implemented; may be removed
Type:

String
Default value:

None
Examples:
  • @pattern "bo$2bo$3o!" (a glider)

Metadata directives

@name

The name of the automaton.

Status:

Not yet implemented
Type:

String
Default value:

Name of the file, excluding the extension.
Examples:
  • @name "Conway's Game of Life"
  • @name "Wireworld"
@author

The author(s) of the NDCA file.

Status:

Not yet implemented
Type:

String
Default value:

"Unknown"
Examples:
  • @author "HactarCE"
  • @author "John Smith"
  • @author "HactarCE and John Smith"
@designer

The designer(s)/discoverer(s) of the automaton.

Status:

Not yet implemented
Type:

String
Default value:

Same as @author
Examples:
  • @designer "John Conway"
  • @designer "Daniel B. Miller and Edward Fredkin"
  • @designer "Steven Wolfram"
@year

The year that the automaton was designed/discovered.

Status:

Not yet implemented
Type:

String
Default value:

"Unknown"
Examples:
  • @year "2010"
  • @year "circa 1970"
@url

A link with more information about the automaton, generally the research paper or website where the automaton was first published, or a Wikipedia or LifeWiki page.

Status:

Not yet implemented
Type:

String
Default value:

"None"
Examples:
  • @url "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conway%27s_Game_of_Life"
  • @url "http://busyboxes.org/faq.html"
  • @url "https://www.conwaylife.com/wiki/OCA:Star_Wars"