Cellular Automata 101

Disclaimer - This is my collection of personal quick reference, that I learned from blogs, books, articles, papers, journals. I'm by no means an expert/professional, my opinions/understanding at the specific time of writing may not be accurate. So don't take my words and apply to your homework/assignment, however I'll try to quote the reference link below.

I don't take responsibility for much more than waking myself up in the morning =)

The term cellular automata is plural, if a code is simulate just one cell - it's a cellular automaton (singular),

A cellular automaton is a model of a system of a cell objects. Its characteristics:

1. Cells live on a grid
2. Each cell has a state (1 or 0, on or off, alive or dead)
3. Each cell has a neighbourhood

Analogy - think of filling in some square on a piece of graph paper. Consider a set of simple rules 
that would allow that pattern to create copies of itself on that grid.

A most important detail of how CA work - time, for CA to live over a period of time (a.k.a generation/frame count/iteration)

References:

http://natureofcode.com/book/chapter-7-cellular-automata/