Complex Cellular Automata

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

A Complex Cellular Automaton (CCA) extends the standard CA model with a pre-processing step that runs before the transition function reads its neighbors. This refinement step gives each cell the opportunity to update its internal state (for example, accumulate incoming flows or decrement a counter) before those updated values are seen by neighboring cells in the same generation.

When to use a CCA

Use the refinements hook when:

A cell’s next state depends on accumulated quantities that must be resolved before the transition function is applied (e.g., heat diffusion, lava flow, erosion).
Your simulation requires cells to perform bookkeeping between generations — such as decrementing a lifetime counter or normalizing a fractional flow value.
The transition function alone is insufficient to model the phenomenon correctly.

Data flow per generation

for each generation:
  1. refinements(cell)        — applied to every cell  [optional CCA hook]
  2. snapshot the grid        — clone the map before any mutation
  3. singleRun(cell, neighbors) — per cell, reads the snapshot, returns next state
  4. copy results back        — update the main map with all new states

Override refinements(DefaultCell cell) in your executor class. Return the modified cell.

Complex Cellular Automata on JCAL Docs

Complex Cellular Automata

When to use a CCA

Data flow per generation

Implementing refinements