OTHER CONTRIBUTIONS: LANGTON'S ANT

Langton's ant is a two-dimensional Turing machine with a very simple set of rules but complex emergent behavior. It was invented by Chris Langton in 1986 and runs on a square lattice of black and white cells. The idea has been generalized in several different ways, such as turmites which add more colors and more states.

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SOURCE CODE ()

	' Enable BITMAP mode with a black background.
	
	BITMAP ENABLE(320,200)
	CLS BLACK
	
	' Precalculate vectorial directions.
	
	DIM dx(4) AS POSITION = #{ 0, 1, 0, -1 }
	DIM dy(4) AS POSITION = #{ -1, 0, 1, 0 }

	' Define the single ant structure.

	TYPE antType
		x AS POSITION
		y AS POSITION
		d AS SIGNED BYTE
	END TYPE
	
	' Declare a single ant variable.
	
	DIM ant AS antType

	' Put ant at the center of the screen.
	
	ant.x = SCREEN WIDTH / 2
	ant.y = SCREEN HEIGHT / 2

	' Endless loop!
	
	DO

		' Take the color in the current ant's position.
		
		c = POINT(ant.x, ant.y)
		
		' If the current ant's cell color is black...
		
		IF c = BLACK THEN
		
			' Rotate 90° clockwise.
			
			INC ant.d
			IF ant.d = 4 THEN ant.d = 0
			
			' Change the cell's color.
			
			PLOT ant.x, ant.y, WHITE
		
		' ... else, if the color is white...
			
		ELSE
		
			' Rotate 90° counter clockwise

			DEC ant.d
			IF ant.d = -1 THEN ant.d = 3
			
			' Change the cell's color.
			
			PLOT ant.x, ant.y, BLACK
			
		ENDIF
		
		' Move the ant forward.
		
		ADD ant.x, dx(ant.d)
		ADD ant.y, dy(ant.d)
		
		' Pac-man border style :-D
		
		IF ant.x < 0 THEN x = SCREEN WIDTH - 1
		IF ant.x > SCREEN WIDTH - 1 THEN x = 0
		IF ant.y < 0 THEN y = SCREEN HEIGHT - 1
		IF ant.y > SCREEN HEIGHT - 1 THEN y = 0
		
	LOOP

How to compile and run the example

The instructions here refer to compiling the example from the command line. For Microsoft Windows users we suggest using UGBASIC-IDE, which allows you to download and compile each single example with just one click.



Are instructions for your specific home computer / console missing? First of all, check if your computer is supported by clicking here. If so, since ugBASIC is a language which does not provide abstractions, it is possible that this example will not work on your target. If you think this is an issue, please click here.

Amstrad CPC 464, Amstrad CPC 6128, Amstrad CPC 664

In order to compile the example, type this command on the command line:

Linux

ugbc.cpc -O dsk -o contrib_ant.dsk contrib_ant.bas

Windows

ugbc.cpc.exe -O dsk -o contrib_ant.dsk contrib_ant.bas

For Microsoft Windows users we suggest using UGBASIC-IDE, which allows you to download and compile this example with just one click.

Atari 400, Atari 800

In order to compile the example, type this command on the command line:

Linux

ugbc.atari -O xex -o contrib_ant.xex contrib_ant.bas

Windows

ugbc.atari.exe -O xex -o contrib_ant.xex contrib_ant.bas

For Microsoft Windows users we suggest using UGBASIC-IDE, which allows you to download and compile this example with just one click.

COCO 3 (Motorola 6809)

In order to compile the example, type this command on the command line:

Linux

ugbc.coco3 -O bin -o contrib_ant.bin contrib_ant.bas

Windows

ugbc.coco3.exe -O bin -o contrib_ant.bin contrib_ant.bas

For Microsoft Windows users we suggest using UGBASIC-IDE, which allows you to download and compile this example with just one click.

Coleco Vision, Dina (Chuang Zao Zhe 50), SpectraVideo SV-603 VGA

In order to compile the example, type this command on the command line:

Linux

ugbc.coleco -O rom -o contrib_ant.rom contrib_ant.bas

Windows

ugbc.coleco.exe -O rom -o contrib_ant.rom contrib_ant.bas

For Microsoft Windows users we suggest using UGBASIC-IDE, which allows you to download and compile this example with just one click.

Commodore 128 (CPU 8502)

In order to compile the example, type this command on the command line:

Linux

ugbc.c128 -O prg -o contrib_ant.prg contrib_ant.bas

Windows

ugbc.c128.exe -O prg -o contrib_ant.prg contrib_ant.bas

For Microsoft Windows users we suggest using UGBASIC-IDE, which allows you to download and compile this example with just one click.

Commodore 64, Commodore Executive 64

In order to compile the example, type this command on the command line:

Linux

ugbc.c64 -O prg -o contrib_ant.prg contrib_ant.bas

Windows

ugbc.c64.exe -O prg -o contrib_ant.prg contrib_ant.bas

For Microsoft Windows users we suggest using UGBASIC-IDE, which allows you to download and compile this example with just one click.

Commodore 64 + REU

In order to compile the example, type this command on the command line:

Linux

ugbc.c64reu -O d64 -o contrib_ant.d64 contrib_ant.bas

Windows

ugbc.c64reu.exe -O d64 -o contrib_ant.d64 contrib_ant.bas

For Microsoft Windows users we suggest using UGBASIC-IDE, which allows you to download and compile this example with just one click.

SEGA SC-3000

In order to compile the example, type this command on the command line:

Linux

ugbc.sc3000 -O rom -o contrib_ant.rom contrib_ant.bas

Windows

ugbc.sc3000.exe -O rom -o contrib_ant.rom contrib_ant.bas

For Microsoft Windows users we suggest using UGBASIC-IDE, which allows you to download and compile this example with just one click.

SEGA SG-1000

In order to compile the example, type this command on the command line:

Linux

ugbc.sg1000 -O rom -o contrib_ant.rom contrib_ant.bas

Windows

ugbc.sg1000.exe -O rom -o contrib_ant.rom contrib_ant.bas

For Microsoft Windows users we suggest using UGBASIC-IDE, which allows you to download and compile this example with just one click.

ZX Spectrum +2, ZX Spectrum 128K, ZX Spectrum 48K

In order to compile the example, type this command on the command line:

Linux

ugbc.zx -O tap -o contrib_ant.tap contrib_ant.bas

Windows

ugbc.zx.exe -O tap -o contrib_ant.tap contrib_ant.bas

For Microsoft Windows users we suggest using UGBASIC-IDE, which allows you to download and compile this example with just one click.

Any problem?

If you have found a problem trying to run this example, if you think there is a bug or, more simply, you would like it to be improved, open an issue for this example on GitHub.
Thank you!

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