Bellman

Bellman
Homepage	Click here
Purpose	Search for catalytic interactions
Created by	Mike Playle Michael Simkin Simon Ekström
Platform	Linux/Unix; Windows

Bellman, named after the character in Lewis Carroll's poem The Hunting of the Snark, is a program for searching for catalytic interactions in Conway's Game of Life and potentially other similar cellular automata. Results are derived directly from the automaton's evolution rule, not generated from a list of candidate catalysts as with previous searchers. True to its name, Bellman did indeed succeed at finding the Snark.

Barrister (the character in the poem who settles disputes) is a LifeAPI version of Bellman. The program can find catalysed reactions and signal circuitry; it is similar to Bellman/dr2, but much faster with advanced features.

External links

• Bellman at the Life Lexicon

The program

• BellmanWin_szlim by Simon Ekström
• BellmanWin (older version) by Michael Simkin
• Bellman (original version)

Documentation

• Bellman: a program for finding catalysts in cellular automata (mirror) (Draft B, August 2, 2014)
• Bellman: a program for finding catalysts in cellular automata (mirror) (Draft A, April 27, 2013)

Forum threads

• Bellman (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
• Search utilities executable? (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums
• Thread For Your Bellman/Barrister Finds (discussion thread) at the ConwayLife.com forums