Discrete Dynamics Lab

Update March 2017

ddlabz05 is documented in an updated hyperref PDF EDD2ndEd-March2017update.pdf which can be downloaded HERE. This is an updated version of Exploring Discrete Dynamics, Second Edition (EDD2) (2016) published by Luniver Press, a 8x10 inch 577 page paperback with color figures, which can be purchased at Amazon-UK, Amazon-USA, and other online book sellers.

March 2017 updates (on the May 2016 release) include the following new features, as well as improvements and bug fixes.

  • The initial DDLab screen/window has been adapted to appear at a reasonable size on very high resolution monitors.
  • Random wiring within a local zone is no longer limited to the shortest 2d or 3d axis.
  • New on-the-fly options have been added to amend the presentation of the the input-frequency histogram.
  • New on-the-fly options have been added to expand/contract the scale of basins of attraction, allowing active control of the ``savescreen demo''.
  • Some improvements to options in the Derrida plot.

A snapshot of the screen-save demo were the scale of basins has been expanded and contracted with new on-the-fly options basinsize-E/C --- for v3k3 n=11 CAs. The E/C options apply whenever basins are being drawn.
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DDLab has been updated at regular intervals since its release in 1995. Its precursor was the Atlas software included on diskette inside the back cover of "The Global Dynamics of Cellular Automata" 1992.
For a list and download of this and older versions click here.

Below are links to previous updates,

May 2016 (EDD 2nd Ed)
xSept 2015
xxMay 2013
xxxJan 2013
xxxxJune 2012 (EDD 1st Ed)
xxxxxNov 2005
xxxxxxDec 2003
xxxxxxxJuly 2001 (DDLab Manual)
xxxxxxxxFeb 1999
xxxxxxxxxSept 1997

Download ddlabz05 for Linux and Mac, Cygwin and DOS. The ddlabz05 source code is available, including Makefiles, readme, GNU license, and notes.
Some of the March 2017 updates are summarised below. Click figures to enlarge. EDD3#x.x.x refers to the relevant section in the March 2017 pdf update of the 2nd edition of Exploring Discrete Dynamics.
EDD3#5.1: The initial DDLab screen/window size
The initial DDLab screen/window (for Linux and Mac) has been adapted to appear at a reasonable size on very high resolution monitors, thought the method now apples for any screen resolution.

The screenshot example on the left, for a Dell XPS13 and Ubuntu 16.04, has a resolution of 3200x1800 pixels. Within the screenshot the initial DDLab window, for ddlabz04 (far left) appears tiny because of the high resolution, whereas the present update ddlabz05, on the right, appears at a reasonable size. Of course the DDLab window can be resized at any time (EDD3#4.1.5, #6.3).

On startup, the computer screen and DDLab window resolution are both displayed in the terminal (very top left), for example,

Monitor=1366x768 DDLabScreen=925x694 (for Lenovo ThinkPad)
Monitor=3200x1800 DDLabScreen=21651x1624 (for Dell XPS13)

EDD3#17.9.5: Random wiring in 2d and 3d
For non-square 2d networks and non-cubic 3d networks, setting random wiring, possibly within a local zone set in EDD3#12.5.2, is no longer limited to the shortest axis.

Enter r in EDD3#17.4 to randomly reset the wiring of the active cell, or of the block if defined and visible. Enter w to randomly resets the wiring of the cells outside an active block, if the active block is visible. Both r and w will respect the biases on random wiring (which include local CA wiring) set in EDD3#17.9.6. Unbiased random wiring (for homogeneous-k) can also be set with R.

The examples on the left show (top) a 2d network 66x22, with a k=21 neighborhood, and (below) a 3d 66x10x22, k=27 (3x3x3) neighborhood. Random wiring can be confined to a local zone (#12.5.2) but the shortest axis is no longer a limiting issue.

+0 +5 +10 +14 EDD3#32.12.3: New on-the-fly options for the input-frequency histogram
If input-entropy is active (EDD3#31.5), these new on-the-fly key hits _ (underscore) and & enable extra manipulation of the input-frequency histogram, to contract/expand the bar width, and to modify a multi-column histogram.
_ (underscore key)
to decrease the bar width by 1 pixel for each key press. Finally the default is restored. The examples on the left show the start histogram, then the width is decreased by 5, 10, 14 (the minimum), key clicks. The system is a randomly wired 124x124 network, v3k7, rule (hex)251285255896189840.
&
to increase the bar width by 1 pixel for a single column. For a multi-column histogram, increase the number of bars by 25% which reduces the number of columns.
EDD3#30.3: New on-the-fly options to expand/contract the scale of attractor basins
Enter E/C while basins are being drawn to expand/contract their scale. This change was made for active control of the "savescreen demo" (EDD3#4.11), but it also applies whenever basins are being drawn, including basin of attraction fields, single basins, and basins for a range of network sizes. For each key hit, the scale for the next basin will expand or contract by 10%.

On the left is a snapshot of the screen-save demo were the scale of basins has been expanded and contracted --- for v2k5 n=14 CAs, on a white background. An example on a black background is at the top of the page.


v2k3 rcode in decimal
>>>its Z-parameter
v2k5 rcode in hex
>>>its Z-parameter
v2k5 tcode in decimal dec
EDD3#22: Some improvements to options in the Derrida plot
The Derrida plot options have been slightly amended and improved, including a new option to show the Z-parameter.

A new item, label-0/Z or label-0 is added to the series of prompts in EDD3#22.2 to define what is printed in a small box at the end of each Derrida plot curve, as illustrated above.

Enter return to accept the default data labels (EDD3#22.5.2). Enter Z for the Z-parameter (for single rcode only), or enter 0 to omit the labels altogether. For a single rule network the default data is the rule in decimal provided that v=2, k<=3 for rcode (so includes elementary rule-space), and v=2, k<=5 for kcode in TFO-mode. Othrewise the rule is shown in hex. For a rulemix, the default data gives the number of iterations.

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Last modified: April 2017