[[Conway's Game of Life|Conway生命游戏]]中的和[[Life-like cellular automaton|相关的细胞自动机]]的图案可以用不同方式'''命名'''。

提及一个图案有三种方式：

*命名”指代图案。
*“描述”介绍图案及其参数。
*“代码”指导图案的构建。

==正当命名==
许多图案有正当命名，它们由发现者或者[[Life enthusiast|生命游戏爱好者的社区]]指定。命名通常基于图案的外观、行为、参数或其他性质。例如：

*由图案外观命名：[[block|方块]]，[[copperhead|铜头蛇]]（形似铜头蛇的头部）
*由图案的行为命名：[[glider|滑翔机]]，[[boat maker|造船器]]。
*由图案的参数命名：[[pentadecathlon|十五行]] ([[:Category:Oscillators with period 15|周期为15的]] [[oscillator|振荡器]])。
*由图案的其他性质命名：[[Quad pseudo still life|四瓣静物]]。

===复合图案===
[[File:Houseonhousesiamesetableontableweldhatsiamesehat.png|right|frame|{[（帽并帽）杂（桌配桌）]并房}配房（英文：House on house siamese table-on-table weld hat-siamese-hat）]]
当一个图案由两个或多个有命名的部分构成时，常用“配”（on）或“接”（at）联系。“和”（and）特别用于一部分为[[induction coil|诱定器]]，且需要不接触地被其他部分稳定的情况。亦可用“[[tie|连]]”（tie），特别是如果两个部分相同，或者两部分边对边地相连时用“[[bridge|搭]]”。

例如：

* ''On配'': [[Figure eight on 36P22|数字八配36P22]], [[Ship on long boat|船配长舟]]. 
* ''At接'': [[Beehive at beehive|蜂巢接蜂巢]], [[Beehive at loaf|蜂巢接面包片]].
* ''And与'': [[Table and table|桌与桌]], [[Cis-R-bee and R-loaf|顺-R-蜂与R-面包片]].
* ''Tie连'': [[Boat-tie|二连舟]], [[Boat tie ship|舟连船]].
* ''Bridge搭'': [[Snake bridge snake|蛇搭蛇]].
 
有时两个相同图案的结合用“双”“映”或“旋”表示，例如：

* ''Bi-双'': [[Bi-pond|双池]], [[Bi-cap|双帽]]
* ''Mirrored映'': [[Mirrored dock|映船坞]]
* ''Rotated旋'': [[Cis-rotated hook|顺旋钩]]

两个物体无修饰地连接称“[[siamese|并]]”，有修饰地连接称“[[weld|杂]]”。例如：

* ''Siamese并'': [[Barge siamese loaf|并面包片]], [[Python siamese snake|]]
* ''Weld杂'': [[Integral|积分号]] ([[Eater 1|吃货1号]]杂[[eater 1|吃货1号]]), [[House on house siamese table-on-table weld hat-siamese-hat|{[（帽并帽）杂（桌配桌）]并房}配房]]

====对齐方式====
{{main|Isomer}}

一个图案的不同部分有时以不同方式排布，则需使用“顺(cis-)”“反(trans-)”“邻(ortho-)”“间(meta-)”“偏(shift-)”“对(para-)”“上(up-)”“下(down-)”区分对齐方式。

''Cis-顺'' and ''trans-反'' are used when two different, asymmetric [[induction coil]]s align; they function as in in organic chemistry. ''Cis-'' denotes a pattern where the "heavy" parts are on the same side, closer to each other, while ''trans-'' denotes a pattern where the "heavy" parts are on opposite sides; compare e.g. [[cis-loaf with tail]] and [[trans-loaf with tail]].
类似于有机化学，“顺(cis-)”“反(trans-)”用于两个不同的、不对称的[[induction coil|诱定器]]对齐的时候。“顺(cis-)”指更大的部分在同侧的图形，而“反(trans-)”指<ref name="ericabq_xp6_w8o0uh224a4z32" />

When two different, asymmetric [[induction coil]]s disalign, ''ortho-邻'', ''meta-间'', ''shift-偏'' and ''para-对'' are used instead. If the constituent patterns point in opposite directions and their "heavy" parts align, ''ortho-'' is used; if their light parts align, ''meta-'' is used. If the patterns point in the same direction, and the first's heavy part aligns with the second's light part, ''shift-'' is used, while if the first's light part aligns with the second's heavy part, ''para-'' is used.<ref name="ericabq_xp6_w8o0uh224a4z32" />

Finally, ''up上'' means that the stabilizer is pointing toward the "heavy" part of the induction coil, while ''down下'' means the stabilizer is pointing away from it.<ref name="ericabq_xp6_w8o0uh224a4z32" />

===无限拓展的家族===
{{Main|Long}}
正如直链烷烃可有任意长，许多图案也可以系统地任意拓展。这一类图案可参考直链烷烃的命名方式，即“长度”在1（最小）到10时依次用十天干（甲、乙、丙、丁、戊、己、庚、辛、壬、癸）表示，10以上用中文数字表示。在英文中，[[barberpole|？？？]]用希腊或拉丁的数字前缀命名，而[[tub|？？？]]、[[boat|舟]]、[[ship|船]]等简单地用“长”（long）、“较长”（very long）、“很长”（extra long）、“太长”（remarkably long）、“超长”（terribly long）之类的简单语言描述，不统一。
另有其他无限拓展的家族难以简单描述，如[[lake|]]；它们大多未命名。

==系统命名（描述） ==
由图案的行为和特点给它们系统命名。

Shuttles, loops and oscillators may be named according to their period; for example, the [[p26 glider shuttle]], [[p42 glider shuttle]] and [[p50 glider shuttle]] are all glider shuttles of various [[period]]s.

[[Sawtooth]]s are often named according to their minimum recurring population, e.g. [[sawtooth 177]], [[sawtooth 201]] and [[sawtooth 1212]].

===Unnamed patterns===
Entirely unnamed patterns are referred to using a descriptor.

For oscillators, the format of the descripter is <tt>#p#</tt>. The first number denotes the smallest amount of cells in any generation; the second denotes the [[period]]. For spaceships, this is extended to <tt>#p#h#v#</tt>. The third and fourth the horizontal and vertical displacement of the ship, relative to its initial position. 

In either case, objects that would ordinarily be assigned the same descriptor may be distinguished by appending a period and an index, e.g. [[28P7.1]] and [[28P7.2]].

For unnamed [[methuselah]]s, the descriptor format is <tt>#M</tt>, with the number giving the number of generations until the pattern settles down, e.g. [[40514M]].

==代码==
:''另见[[:Category:File formats|文件格式]].''
有多种方式给图案编拟代码。

* [[RLE]]易编码、解码，但可能过大且不能唯一确定图案。
* [[Apgsearch格式 |Extended Wechsler code]]s (apgcodes) uniquely identify a pattern, while also encoding its behavior in a given rule (assumed to be  unless otherwise specified).唯一确定一个图案，并能在给定规则（通常是[[Conway's Game of Life|Conway 生命游戏]]，除非另有说明）内表示其行为。

==图案集编码==
Unnammed patterns can also be described by their indices in pattern collections; for example, the [[hat]] is [http://www.pentadecathlon.com/objects/object-info.php?objid=9.1 object 9.1] on [[Pentadecathlon.com]]. For stamp collections such as [[jslife]], the file the object is contained in and its position on the grid can be used.