What is DDLab?

DDLab is an interactive graphics program for researching cellular automata, random boolean networks and multi-value discrete dynamical networks in general, relevant to the study of complexity, emergent phenomena, neural networks, gene regulatory networks, and other dynamical processes that play out across a directed network, where network nodes receive inputs from other nodes. The nodes can have a value range (internal state) from 2 (Boolean) up to 8. A network can be set up with any architecture from cellular autamata to networks with arbitrary connections and heterogeneous rules (including random Boolean networks). Network dimensions may be 1d, 2d or 3d. The network may also have heterogeneous neighborhood sizes.

The program iterates the network forward to display space-time patterns, and also runs the network "backwards" to generate a pattern's predecessors and reconstruct its branching sub-tree of all ancestor patterns. For smaller networks, sub-trees, basins of attraction or the whole basin of attraction field can be reconstructed and displayed as directed graphs in real time. The DDLab Gallery shows examples. The network's parameters, and the graphics display and presentation options, can be flexibly set, reviewed and altered, including changes on-the-fly. A wide variety of measures, data, analysis and statistics are available. The DDLab manual gives comprehensive operating instructions.