Implementation of 1-dimensional (Elementary) Cellular Automata as a
stream using feedback and circular buffer delay line. Stream
generates 1 (Live) and 0 (Dead) values, according to initial state
and rule.
Initial state may be any length array. Different array lengths
affects the rate of mutation, comparable to classical cellular
automata implementations that use a fixed array as value between CA
processing steps.
Rule numbers are implemented using Wolfram-style encoding where
number is interpreted as bits. This allows user to use Wolfram rule
numbers. For example, Rule 30 gives bit value of 00011110.
For this project, the CA stream values are used to turn and off a
held note of a specific frequency and amplitude. Actions occur only
when the stream values has transitioned from 0 to 1 or vice versa. The project runs indefinitely but was capped off at ten minutes here.
Using a feedback+delay-based approach could be interesting to allow for user input. The ca_stream user-defined opcode here could be modified to take in input and use bitwise-or with a generated value before writing it back into the stream. This could allow users to “play” the stream, and could make the Class 1 rules that evolve to 0’s be interesting for generating a limited amount of output in time to the user input. (I am curious to know if this could be useful, and will plan to investigate shortly by implementing an interactive web application.)