Support turmite rulestrings

[HactarCE]

Tentative notation

[ and ] represent literal characters. < and > do not.

• <turmite type>[<transitions per internal state>]
• <turmite type> is Turmite, AbsoluteTurmite, TriTurmite, or HexTurmite
• <transitions per internal state> is a |-separated list of <transitions per tile state>
• <transitions per tile state> is a ,-separated list of <transition>
• <transition> is <new tile state><directions>
• <new tile state> is a non-negative integers less than the number of tiles
• <directions> is a list of <direction> with no separator
  • If no directions are listed, the turmite disappears
  • If multiple directions are listed, the turmite is cloned
• <direction> is a relative or absolute direction (depending on the type of turmite) optionally followed by a 3D orientation change optionally followed by a new internal state, which is a non-negative integer less than the number of internal states

Relative directions

• F = forwards (no turn)
• B = backwards (180 turn left/right)
• L = left
• R = right
• U = up
• D = down

Absolute directions

• E = east
• W = west
• N = north
• S = south
• U = up
• D = down

3D orientation changes

• l = roll 90 degrees counterclockwise
• r = roll 90 degrees clockwise
• f = roll 180 degrees

Examples

• Langton's Ant: Turmite[1R,0L]
• Langton's LLRR Ant: Turmite[1R,2R,3L,0L]
• Highway 2074575: AbsoluteTurmite[1N1,1W0|0S1,1N1|1S3,1S2|0N2,0E1]

Other considerations

3D orientation may be determined by using the previous "forward" direction of the turmite as the new "up" direction.

It may be worth creating a more concise Ant[...] generator with limited capabilities.

See also:

• Softology Ant Automata