a newbie problem

[d57799]

Could someone recommend some websites or some kind of software that help finding patterns?
And how to operate them.

[dvgrn]

Could someone recommend some websites or some kind of software that help finding patterns?
And how to operate them.

Here's the standard answer for Life search programs. A good place to start might be Karel Suhajda's JLS -- not on David Eppstein's list, but it's a good cross-platform variant of lifesrc/WinLifeSearch. Bellman is another interesting new addition.

The "how to operate" question is hard to answer in general, but there are several different threads on this forum and elsewhere, that have walkthroughs for specific utilities:

• JLS
• Bellman
• gencols -- try this link if you need a Windows executable
• gfind -- or modified versions, but this link might need a "don't try this at home" note for newbies...
• catgl /catalyst -- here's an attempt at a walkthrough
• Hersrch -- updated version with new conduits. Also for Mac OS.
• ptbsearch -- there isn't really a walkthrough, unfortunately, but there should be!

[d57799]

Well, I'm really bad on coding. I'll probably consider a online one.
The links of the JLS all died out.
And I have heard one called WLS, if the W means "web", I would like to try. Online things are more user-friendly to me.

[dvgrn]

Well, I'm really bad on coding. I'll probably consider a online one.
The links of the JLS all died out.

Very odd. Last night I checked the link for the JLS manual, and everything was fine. This morning my annoying Internet security application thinks that Karel's website is somehow dangerous, and wants to forbid downloads.

The files themselves seem to be fine -- one is just a .PDF file, and the other is a .jar Java application file that runs just the way it always did. Here are links to copies in an alternate location:

Link: JavaLifeSearch v1.7
Manual: JLS manual

You don't technically have to be a programmer to use most of the above links; there are often precompiled versions available. But it is certainly very useful to understand things like batch files and piping standard inputs and outputs, to deal with the information flow through many of these old-style search utilities. Only JLS and WLS have actual user interfaces (!)

And I have heard one called WLS, if the W means "web", I would like to try. Online things are more user-friendly to me.

Well, Life programmers as a group are a decade or two behind the times, it seems. The W in WLS stands for "Windows"; you can probably just use JLS instead.

There are only a few minor online Life search programs, like Paul Callahan's still-life finder. One possible reason is that the interesting search utilities mostly generate more information than a Web app could conveniently handle.

I think everyone probably agrees that it's a great idea to add user-friendly GUIs to many of the standard search programs, and maybe include them all as some kind of add-on to Golly, so that they work wherever Golly does. But somehow it's easier to suggest doing all that work, than to actually do it...