life(6) life(6)NAME life - play the game of life SYNOPSIS /usr/games/life [-r] DESCRIPTION life is a pattern-generating game set up for interactive use on a video terminal. The way it operates is: You use a series of commands to set up a pattern on the screen and then let it generate further patterns from that pattern. The algorithm used is this: For each square in the matrix, look at it and its eight adjacent neighbors. If the present square is unoccupied and exactly three of its neighboring squares are occupied, then that square will be occupied in the next pattern. If the present square is occupied and two or three 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 unoccu- pied void. If you specify the -r option on the command line, the screen is treated as a torus; that is, the top and bottom lines and the left and right columns are considered adjacent. 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 Add a block of elements. The first number speci- fies the horizontal width and the second number specifies the vertical height. If a number is not specified, the default is 1. nc Step through the next n patterns. If no number is specified, step forever. The operation can be cancelled by typing an interrupt. m,nd Delete 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 Generate a little flier at the present location. The number (modulo 8) determines the direction. m,ng Move to absolute screen location. The first April, 1990 1
life(6) life(6)number specifies the horizontal location and the second number specifies the vertical location. If a number is not specified, the default is 0. nh Move left n steps. If no number is specified, the default is 1. nj Move down n steps. The default is 1. nk Move up n steps. The default is 1. nl Move right n steps. The default is 1. nn Step through the next n patterns. If no number is specified, generate the next pattern. The opera- tion can be cancelled by typing an interrupt. p Put the last yanked or deleted block at the present location. q Quit. m,ny Yank a block of elements. The first number speci- fies the horizontal width and the second number specifies the vertical height. If a number is not specified, the default is 1. C Clear the pattern. nF Generate a big flier at the present location. The number (modulo 8) determines the direction. nH Move to the left margin. nJ Move to the bottom margin. nK Move to the top margin. nL Move to the right margin. nCONTROL-H Move left n steps. If no number is specified, the default is 1. nCONTROL-J Move down n steps. The default is 1. nCONTROL-K Move up n steps. The default is 1. nCONTROL-L Move right n steps. The default is 1. 2 April, 1990
life(6) life(6)CONTROL-R Redraw the screen. This is used for those occa- sions when the terminal screws up. . Repeat the last add (a) or delete (d) operation. ; Repeat the last move (h, j, k, l) operation. FILES /usr/games/life BUGS The following features are planned but not implemented. m,nS Save the selected area in a file. R Restore from a file. m Generate a macro command. ! Shell escape. e Edit a file. i Input commands from a file. April, 1990 3