Copyright: Copyright © 1995 Peter Wyspianski
Citation: Copyright © 1995 Peter Wyspianski


Contents
Wa-Tor V

A Windows expedition to A.K. Dewdney's planet Wa-Tor.

Copyright © 1995 Peter Wyspianski. This program is freeware. You are authorized to distribute unmodified copies of the entire Wa-Tor V package, provided you do not sell it (you may charge a small copying fee). Please contact me for further licensing information.

Choose a topic below or press the arrow buttons above to see each item in order:

Introduction to Wa-Tor

Biology on Planet Wa-Tor

Program Operation

Suggestions for Using Wa-Tor

What Next?

Address & Credits


Introduction to Wa-Tor

Wa-Tor V is an edu-tainment program for Windows. It models a simple ecosystem that was first proposed by A.K. Dewdney in his Computer Recreations column in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazine. It was also presented in Dewdney's fascinating book The Armchair Universe. Wa-Tor V lets you play with different variables in the predator-prey relationship and watch the results unfold in a dramatic and fast-paced visual presentation. Have fun!


Biology on Planet Wa-Tor

Background

The Rules of Wa-Tor


Trouble seeing 16 x 16 images?
If you or someone you know has trouble viewing 16 x 16 images but would still like to use the program, just let me know what size images will work for you and I'll provide a customized version (for free, of course).


Program Operation

Choose a topic below:

The Main Window

File Menu

Edit Menu

Action Menu

Help Menu


What Next?

Wa-Tor V: The Sequel?

I have no specific plans to continue developing the program, though I will do my level best to fix any bugs that are reported to me (see below).Will there be another version of Wa-Tor? If I was going to release a 'new and improved' version of Wa-Tor here are some improvements I might make:

1)	Automatic data collection. Let's face it, writing down fish and shark data by hand is pretty tedious. There are good reasons for leaving it out but if I get enough feedback requesting a data collection feature, I will put it in. That would make plotting data from a thousand or even ten thousand cycles feasible.

2)	Ocean editing. There may be some demand for features that allow custom fish and shark positioning. It would be something like a water-logged version of Life.

3)	Alternate rules. Dewdney listed a few alternate rules for a Wa-Tor world. One I like is allowing sharks to eat each other. Others have suggested multiple fish and shark species, each having unique characteristics. Maybe the fish could be made smarter. You get the idea.

4)	Smaller save files. This is technical but refinements to the current '.wat' file format could result in a 50 to 80% space reduction.

Your Ideas Go Here!

I would really like to consider your ideas. If I get some encouraging feedback and interesting suggestions I could be persuaded to bring out an update to Wa-Tor.

Bugs?

I have thoroughly tested Wa-Tor V on a number of different computer systems and it operates correctly on these systems. Having released freeware before, I can be pretty certain of getting some bug reports anyway, so here is the deal on bugs: if you find a serious bug in Wa-Tor and you supply enough information for me to reproduce it on my system I will make an honest effort to fix it and release an update. If the bug only shows up on your system but is reproducible I still would like to hear about it, though I may not have the resources to fix it. If you report a bug or crash that only happened once on your system, I'll make a note of it in case there is a pattern, but I'm not likely to be able to fix it. Incidentally, this latter problem is by far the most common and is understandably very difficult to fix.

Submitting a Bug Report

There is a bug report form, but you don't have to use it! Some big software companies refuse to accept bug reports unless they are submitted on the appropriate form and delivered to them via the appropriate channel. I'm not like that. If you find something not quite right with my program and you take the time to let me know about it, then you are doing me a favor and I appreciate it. This bug report form will give me enough information to find and fix most bugs, so I do encourage you to use it, but if you just want to drop me an E-mail note with a description of the problem, that's fine too.

What to include in your bug report for maximum effectiveness:

1)	Your Name/Address/Phone number/E-MAIL Address

2)	Computer make & model (eg Dell Dimension XPS P90)

3)	Processor make & model (eg Intel Pentium 66)

4)	Installed RAM (eg 8M, 16M)

5)	Video board make & model

6)	Video resolution you were using (eg 800x640, 1024x720). This is important.

7)	Video driver version or date. This is important.

8)	Operating system and version (eg DOS 6.22 with WFWG 3.11).

9)	Operating system extensions (eg Norton Desktop for Windows, QEMM7.5, Dashboard).

10)	A complete description of what you were doing and what happened when the bug show up.

11)	A quote of any error message. This is perhaps THE most important piece of information. (eg Module xxx caused GPF in module yyy or Internal error #abcd).

12)	A complete inventory of other software that may have been running at the same time (eg. Clock, ProComm for Windows).

13)	Any other information you feel may be relevant. For example, a similar error has shown up in other programs. Or when you run certain programs at the same time the bug shows up.


The Armchair Universe
Dewdney, A.K. The Armchair Universe. Toronto: Macmillian of Canada, 1988.

IBSN 0-7715-9299-X. Also published in the U.S. by W.H. Freeman and Company.


torus
Doughnut


oceanic plankton
No, I don't know what it is either but it is omnipresent and omniabundant, according to Dewdney.


meridian
An imaginary line that runs from pole-to-pole around a planet.


parallel
An imaginary line that runs around a planet parallel to the equator.


Dell Dimension XPS P90
No, I don't own one of these dream machines, though I do have a fairly decent generic Pentium system.


Suggestions for Using Wa-Tor

It can be a lot of fun just to change the Wa-Tor parameters and watch the action and I sure hope you do that!  But if you want to dig a little deeper into the concepts behind the program, here are some things you can try. First, I will present some methods for gathering data and then I will give some suggestions for things to explore:

Measuring

Graphs

Use the step feature of Wa-Tor to gather fish and shark counts for a number of cycles. Then make a line graph showing fish and shark numbers versus time. Another cool graph to try is a phase diagram. Some popular software packages have built-in graphing features so this might be a good excuse to try one out.

Parameters

It is interesting to examine the effect of particular parameters on the progress of the simulation. Try running the simulation for a certain number of cycles, say 250. Record the fish and shark population. Then change one or two parameters and run it for the same number of cycles. Note any difference in the population numbers. You may want to repeat each run a few times and take an average for each value.

Some Topics to Explore with Wa-Tor

1)	What effect does ocean geometry have on the shark and fish populations? Try square versus rectangular oceans. Try tall and narrow versus short and wide. Planet Wa-Tor is a torus, so which geometry best models it?

2)	How can you tell when a given set of Wa-Tor parameters produces a stable system? Is it valid to say that if there are still fish and sharks left after 500, 1000, or 10000 cycles then the simulation is stable? If not, how long must you run the simulation before you can say it is stable?

3)	For a particular ocean geometry, are there patterns that determine if Wa-Tor is stable for given values of fbreed, sbreed, and sstarve? For example does an sbreed value that is at least twice fbreed always make the simulation stable? Are there values of fbreed and sbreed where sstarve doesn't matter?

4)	Why do the sharks seem to hunt in packs and the fish swim in schools? The rules of Wa-Tor govern individual fish and sharks, yet in the simulation there seems to be a lot of organized behavior. Why does this occur? Could this explain the amazingly coordinated behavior of flocks of birds and herds of animals on Earth?

5)	If sbreed is set lower than sstarve it is possible for the shark population on Wa-Tor to eat all the fish and then continue to survive. Why does this happen? Is it realistic? Does this mean that the Wa-Tor model is wrong?

These are just a few questions you can explore with Wa-Tor. I am sure you can think up some of your own and I'd like to know what you have done with this program. I'd also be happy to try to answer any questions you may have.about the simulation.


things you can try
Some people call these experiments.


Windows
Microsoft Windows Version 3.1 or higher. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.


phase diagram
Briefly, to make a phase diagram you treat the fish and shark count at any given cycle as a single X,Y coordinate on a cartesian plane. For example, if your first fish count is 200 and the shark count is 20 you would plot a point at (200,20). If the next count was 175 fish and 18 sharks, the next point would be at (175,18).


edu-tainment
You might learn something while having fun.


Background

Planet Wa-Tor was 'discovered' by A.K. Dewdney in his Computer Recreations column in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN magazine. The actual time and place of his discovery has been been lost with the passage of time, but his popular book The Armchair Universe devotes an entire chapter to this strange planet.

Planet Wa-Tor is unique. It is completely covered with water and shaped like a torus. Wa-Tor has a very simple ecosystem because there are only two creatures on the planet: fish and sharks.The sharks eat the fish and the fish eat some kind of oceanic plankton. Unlike some earthly shark species, the sharks on Wa-Tor do not eat one another, even in the face of starvation.

In his article, A.K. Dewdney outlined a computer program that could simulate the ecosystem on planet Wa-Tor. This program could be used to explore the predator-prey relationship between the fish and sharks. In fact, he developed a program for his IBM PC that simulates the life-and-death struggle between the denizens of planet Wa-Tor.

Wa-Tor V is a Windows implementation of the Wa-Tor simulator as outlined by Dewdney. The evolution of computer hardware over the years means that Wa-Tor V runs considerably faster than the original. It also takes advantage of the windowed environment to allow much larger oceans than the 32x14 mentioned in Dewdney's article. In all respects, the program remains faithful to the rules that were given for a Wa-Tor simulator.


problem
error message, incorrect operation, etc.


The Rules of Wa-Tor

The rules of Wa-Tor are very simple but they lead to complex behavior. There are only five parameters that govern the simulation. In the following descriptions parameter names are presented in this style of lettering:

Time is measured and passes in regular intervals called cycles. A cycle does not represent any particular unit of time, though it would be useful to think of one cycle as roughly one day on planet Wa-Tor.

The ocean is a rectangular grid of a selectable width and height. The ocean is shaped like a torus The north edge of the ocean is connected to the south edge. Thus a creature that swims due north along a meridian will eventually 'wrap around' the world and return to its starting point. The ocean is similarly connected at its east and west edges so that a trip along a parallel will eventually cause a creature to circumnavigate the planet. Incidentally, a standard sphere would have provided the same effect but then we would not have been able to make puns out of the words water and torus

The fish and sharks swim and breed (and hunt) in the ocean. They never die of old age. The fish can live forever if they escape being eaten. The sharks can live forever if they find enough food to eat. There is only one gender on Wa-Tor which means that for both fish and sharks a single individual can reproduce (breed) independently. This is quite different from earthly biology, of course.

The fish eat oceanic plankton which is so abundant that it is not shown in the simulation. A parameter fbreed determines how often fish produce an offspring. The sharks eat the fish. A parameter sbreed determines how often sharks produce an offspring. Another parameter sstarve determines how long a shark can go without eating before it dies from hunger.

Each cycle consists of these two steps:

Fish swim and breed.

Sharks hunt and breed.

After the two steps have been performed, the display is updated. The details of each step are given below.

Fish swim and breed:

For each fish:

1)	Increase the fish's age to a maximum of fbreed.

2)	From the four adjacent grid squares pick one that does not contain another fish and move the fish there or remain in place if surrounded by other fish.

3)	If the fish moved to a new square and its age is greater than or equal to fbreed create a new fish at the old grid square and set the ages of both fish to zero.

Sharks hunt and breed:

For each shark:

1)	Increase the shark's age to a maximum of sbreed and and increase the shark's hunger.

2)	Shark hunts:

From the four adjacent grid squares pick one that contains a fish and move the shark to it. If no fish is available, pick a grid square that does not contain another shark and move to it. Remain in place if surrounded by sharks.

3)	If the shark moved to a square with a fish, remove the fish that was there and set the shark's hunger to zero.

4)	If the shark's hunger is greater than or equal to sstarve, remove the shark (it dies). No further processing is done.

5)	Shark breeds:

If the shark moved to a new square and its age is greater than or equal to sbreed create a new shark at the old grid square and set the ages of both sharks to zero. Also set the new shark's hunger to zero.

After these two steps, the simulation checks to see if either all the sharks or all the fish have disappeared. In either of these cases the simulation is stopped and the appropriate message is displayed. Otherwise, the program performs another cycle. From these simple rules, Wa-Tor springs to life on your computer screen.


circumnavigate
Go all the way around.


water
Refreshing liquid.


cycles
Dewdney called them chronons in his article but I took some artistic license with the name.


freeware
Send postcards, not money.


implementation
Yes, I really do talk like this in real life!


Wa-Tor V
Copyright © 1995 Peter Wyspianski. This program is freeware. You are authorized to distribute unmodified copies of the entire Wa-Tor V package, provided you do not sell it (you may charge a small copying fee). Please contact me for further licensing information.


bugs
Evidenced by an error message or incorrect operation of the program or operating system.


serious bug
Causes the program or operating system to outright fail.


File Menu

New

Resets the simulator to the last used setup and clears the current file name. This has the same effect as pressing the Reset button or selecting the Action | Reset menu item.

Open

Lets you restore a previously saved simulation file. The simulation is configured exactly as it was when the file was saved except that the current preferences items are retained (images, display method). The window title bar reflects the name of the currently opened simulation file.

Save

Stores the current simulation in a file using its current file name (as shown in the window title bar). Save asks you for a file name if the current simulation doesn't have one. The default Wa-Tor data file extension is "*.wat" but you are free to change it. The saved file can later be recovered with the File | Open command. The save menu item is disabled when a simulation is running. You must stop the simulation before using the save command.

Save As...

This command is the same as Save except that it always asks you for a file name. Use this to save the simulation file under a different name.

Exit

Leaves the program. If you have an unsaved simulation, it gives you a chance to save it. You can also exit Wa-Tor by selecting Close from the window's control menu or by double clicking on the control menu box.

Notes About File Save Prompting

Wa-Tor tries to use a little common sense before it warns you about overwriting the existing simulation. If you haven't saved the current simulation, it assumes that you don't care about it. This is usually the case as you are experimenting with various setups. Every time you press the Reset button or select File | New, you probably don't want to be bothered with a warning. If you do care about the simulation you will have saved it. Once a simulation has a name, the program always offers to save it before doing anything that overwrites it.


Setup...

Edit | Setup...

In the setup box you can assign new simulation parameters. It can be opened from either the Edit | Setup menu or the Setup button in the main window. If you change your mind about your setup changes, pressing the cancel button restores your previous setup and simulation.

Ocean Size

The Width and Height boxes let you specify the ocean dimensions. The minimum value for each dimension is three and the maximum is 255. The larger the ocean, the slower the program operates. If you make the ocean too small for the number of fish and sharks you selected, the program will let you know.

Fish/Sharks

Here you can set the fish and shark parameters. For both fish and sharks you can set the initial number and breeding frequency. For sharks you can also set the sstarve value. Fish and sharks can start with as few as one of each. The maximum number depends on the ocean dimensions. If you select too many, Wa-Tor will tell you. In general, the total fish + sharks must be less than the area of the ocean, width x height. For best results, start with a sparsely populated ocean. For example set the total fish + sharks to less than half the ocean area.

OK Button

Press this button to reset the simulation with the new  parameters. If any errors are detected (such as the ocean not being big enough for the number of fish and sharks), an error message is displayed and you are returned to the Setup dialog box.

Cancel Button

If you change your mind about the new parameters, press this button to return to the simulation exactly as you left it. If you want to start all over, press cancel and then select setup again.

Help Button

Opens this help page.


Edit Menu

The Edit menu contains the customization tools for the simulator. Setup lets you change the simulation parameters, while Preferences lets you adjust the program operation.

Setup...

Preferences...


Action Menu

Start/Step/Stop

Single Step

Reset


Single Step

Action | Single Step

Normally the simulator runs continuously when you press the start button until you press stop. The single step menu item is used to change the start button to a step button. When single step is selected, the simulator performs one cycle every time you press the step button. This lets you watch the action at whatever speed you wish. Single stepping is useful for recording population statistics because you can write down the values after each step. Single step mode is indicated by a check mark beside the single step menu item (and the start/step button is labeled 'step'). To turn off single step mode, select the Single Step menu item again.

See Also:

Start/Step/Stop Button

Action | Start/Step/Stop


Help Menu

Help...

About Wa-Tor...


same format
An image set is a 256-color bitmap (*.bmp) that starts with the fish, then then shark, then the ocean image. The images need not be square (though my rectangular images looked funny so I left them out). If image size is A x B then each image is A pixels wide by B pixels high. The image set size is 3A wide (A fish pixels + A shark pixels + A ocean pixels). It remains B pixels high.


Reset

Action | Reset

The reset menu item is identical to the reset button in the main window. Selecting reset returns the simulation to its original state. The initial number of fish and sharks are used to randomly repopulate the ocean. The cycle and time counters are cleared. Wa-Tor may ask if you want to save the current simulation before it resets it.

See Also:

Reset Button

File | New

Notes About File Save Prompting


Preferences...

Edit | Preferences...

The preferences dialog box is used to customize the operation of the simulator to your own liking. Some of the items in the preferences dialog box are a little technical so it is perfectly OK to just leave them set the way you find them. Before you change the value in the Simulation Speed box, please read the section Important Notes About Using High Speed Values. High simulation speeds can cause interference with other Windows programs and this section explains the situation and gives a short list of things to avoid during high speed simulations The default speed setting does not cause any problems for other Windows programs.

Custom settings for all of these items (and a few more not available from the dialog) can be set from the program INI file. See the accompanying technical documentation for more details.

Image Size

The fish, sharks, and even empty ocean locations are shown on the Wa-Tor display as little drawings called images. There are four image sizes ranging from the tiny 2 x 2 to the huge 16 x 16. The images are measured in pixels but the actual size depends on the size and resolution of your computer's video monitor and display adaptor. Smaller image sizes are good if you want to see more of an ocean or just get the "big picture". The larger image sizes are better for examining in detail a portion of the ocean. This is especially useful when combined with the single step simulator operation.

See Also:

Trouble seeing 16 x 16 images?

Image Set

For each image size there are a number of different image style sets. These style sets reflect various theories about what the inhabitants of Wa-Tor really look like. Just click on the image set scroll bar arrows to see the possibilities. The first image set shows a traditional earth-like fish and shark. This is probably not an accurate portrait of the Wa-Toreans. The second image set (the three-dimensional look) is my personal view of these creatures. You may have your own ideas on the appearance of Wa-Tor's inhabitants. If so, please draw it in the same format and submit it to me for inclusion in future releases of Wa-Tor.

Display Method

There are two display methods: tame and raw. Tame (the default) is a nicer display but it is slow. If you have a 386 computer and the simulation seems slow, try raw display method. The display updating flickers a bit but it updates at twice the rate of tame. For 486 and Pentium owners, tame should work well for you and it doesn't flicker at all. For a technical discussion of the display method (including buffering and caching details) please see the accompanying technical documentation.

Simulation Speed

The speed setting determines how fast Wa-Tor simulations run. You may want it to run at less than full speed so you can watch more details. SimSpeed is a non-linear scale from zero to ten (inclusive: there are eleven settings). The slowest speed is zero and the fastest is ten. Non-linear means a speed of four is not twice as fast as a speed of two. In fact, there are more slow speed settings than fast ones. The speed setting only affects simulator operation when it is in 'run' mode. It does not affect single step speed (actually you control the single step speed). Slow speeds are handy when you want to analyze fish and shark behavior in detail but don't want to have to keep hitting the step button. It is also useful for slowing the action down just enough so you can follow it. The simulator speed values have an approximate (and I mean approximate) relationship to the main cycles per second display (you can change these, see below):

0 - 0.1 cps	 6 - 10.0 cps

1 - 0.2 cps	 7 - 20.0 cps

2 - 0.5 cps	 8 - 30.0 cps

3 - 1.0 cps	 9 - 40.0 cps

4 - 2.0 cps	10 - as fast as possible

5 - 5.0 cps

It is not possible for the simulation to achieve 10+ cps on all machines. On a 1994-vintage Pentium a setting of 9 (40.0 cps) is somewhat wishful thinking. There is also likely to be some variation from computer to computer. Besides raw computing power the next biggest factor in simulation performance is the display adaptor speed. Since this varies from computer to computer, the given speeds may not be accurate. If you are technically inclined, you can change these speeds and fine-tune them to your liking (for example you could redefine the list to go from 1.0 cps to 10 cps in increments of 1 cps). See the accompanying technical documentation for details.

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT USING HIGH SPEED VALUES (speed of 7 or higher):

This is a bit technical, but to get maximum simulation speed, certain rules for 'well behaved'  Windows programs had to be ignored. The higher the speed setting, the more the rules are broken. Windows expects all programs to 'share the CPU'. Wa-Tor tries very hard to work at the speed you set. At lower speed values, there is no problem keeping up and it can share the CPU with other Windows programs. As the speed gets higher and higher, Wa-Tor will reach a point where it is working at the maximum and can't share the CPU and still meet the speed you set. This is called 'hogging the CPU' and is impolite but generally not harmful but there are two things to watch out for when speed is set to a high value:

1)	Don't run communications or FAX software in the background while Wa-Tor is running a simulation at high speed. This only applies when Wa-Tor is actually in 'run' mode. If it is stopped, then there is no problem running background programs.

2)	If your SCREEN SAVER kicks in while Wa-Tor is running a simulation at high speed, it may only get enough CPU time to BLANK THE SCREEN and no more. It could also get as far as drawing it's initial graphics. In any case, it will then freeze because it gets no more CPU time. Seeing a blank or static display may freak you out the first time you see it because it looks like a crash (it freaked me out and I wrote the program). When this happens, just press the SHIFT key or bump the mouse and everything will be OK.


quantifies
Gives it a number.


wishful thinking
Given the awesome progress of computer technology if you are reading this some years in the future you may laugh because my 1994 vintage P60 gets a 'mere' 40 cycles per second (CPS) while your DECium1000 (or whatever) clearly gets 583 CPS. Laugh, but notice that I had the foresight to make the CPS display capable of registering such speeds (and more)...


The Main Window

The main window has three parts: the ocean display, the status display, and the control buttons. When the Wa-Tor starts, an ocean is generated using default values. These default values can be changed by using an INI file. See the accompanying technical documentation for details on how to use and modify the INI file.

Ocean Display

The ocean display shows the current state of the simulation down to individual fish and sharks.Fish, sharks, and empty ocean areas each have a unique image in the ocean display. You can use the Edit | Preferences dialog box to change the image size and appearance. If the ocean is too large to be displayed in the window, standard scroll bars are activated along the right and bottom edges of the display. These can be used to bring hidden parts of the ocean into view any time, even when a simulation is running. Another way to make more of the ocean visible at one time is to reduce the image size. This is also done in the Edit | Preferences dialog box.

Status Display

The status display quantifies the Wa-Tor simulation status:

Fish/Sharks

Shows the total number of fish and sharks present in the ocean. If either of these values reaches zero, the simulation stops and gives an analysis of what happened.

Cycle

The simulation operates in cycles. A cycle consists of giving each fish and shark a chance to move, breed, and, for sharks, hunt. The cycle count can hold a very large number, in case you want to run a simulation for many years.

Run Time

The simulation keeps track of the total number of hours, minutes, and seconds that the simulation has been running. It only counts the time that was spent following the simulation rules. Run time is saved along with the other information when you use the File | Save command. This means that you can keep track of how many hours a given simulation has accumulated. Incidentally, it would take a fast computer running for well over a year to overflow the run time counter (the run time display can adapt to display thousands of hours).

Cycles/Sec

This measures the average simulation iteration rate. This is more a performance measurement than a simulation status display value. Still, it is useful if you want to run simulations for a certain number of cycles because you can calculate how long it will take. The cycles per second value can also be a good indicator if you are trying to get the fastest possible simulation speed. For comparison, on my P60 using tame display method, an 80 x 30 ocean and 8 x 8 image size, I get around 20 cycles/sec. Using raw display method, I get around 30 cycles/sec. Display adaptor settings can have a big effect on simulation speed. The preferences dialog has a speed setting that you can use to adjust the normal run speed to your liking. Please read the notes on using high simulation speeds in the Edit | Preferences help section before you change the value.

See Also:

Edit | Preferences

Notes on Using High Simulation Speeds

Width/Height/Fish Breed/Shark Breed/Shark Starve

These are just information displays of the current simulation parameters. They are at the far right of the status display and may be obscured if you make the window small. These parameters are modified in the Setup dialog. Once the parameters are set for a simulation, they can not be changed without starting a new simulation.

Buttons

The three buttons at the bottom of the main window are the most common Wa-Tor commands. There are also menu items that perform the same actions as the buttons.

Start/Step/Stop Button

Pressing the start button starts the simulation running using the current parameters. Pressing the button again stops the simulation. When single step mode is selected (using Action | Single Step) the start button changes to say 'step'. It also changes to say 'stop' when the simulation is running. When the simulation is running, it remains running even when the main window is minimized or when another program's window is in front. In fact, a Wa-Tor simulation runs incredibly fast when the main window is minimized because it does not update the display or status area. For performance reasons, you should stop a simulation before you switch to another Windows program (it is OK to leave the Wa-Tor program open though).

See Also:

Action | Start/Step/Stop

Action | Single Step

Reset Button

The reset button returns the current simulation to its original state. The initial number of fish and sharks are used to randomly repopulate the ocean. The cycle and time counters are cleared. Wa-Tor may ask if you want to save the current simulation before it resets it.

See Also:

Action | Reset

File | New

Notes About File Save Prompting

Setup Button

The setup button gives you direct access to the Wa-Tor setup dialog box where you can change the simulation parameters. You will use this button frequently as you modify the parameters, run it for a while to see the effect, then change the parameters again.

See Also:

Edit | Setup...


following the simulation rules
In technical jargon, run time counts iteration and display time.


iteration rate
The number of times per second that a cycle is performed.


minimized
Turned into an icon in the lower left corner of the screen. See your Windows manual for more details on 'window minimizing'.


Start/Step/Stop (menu item)
Start/Step/Stop

Action | Start

Action | Step

Action | Stop

The start menu item is identical to the start button in the main window. Selecting the start menu item starts the simulation running using the current parameters. Selecting it again (it will be changed to say 'stop') stops the simulation. When single step mode is selected (using Action | Single Step) the menu item changes to 'step'.

See Also:

Start/Step/Stop Button


Help...

Help | Help...

The help menu item opens this help file at the main contents page. From there you can browse around the Wa-Tor help system. Some dialog boxes have individual help buttons that open this help file at the help page for that dialog box. You can also open the help page for the main window by pressing F1 while the main window is visible.


About Wa-Tor...

Help | About Wa-Tor...

The About Wa-Tor menu selection gives you a bit of information on who wrote the program. It also features an 'address' button that will present the author's mailing address should you wish to send a postcard or other mail.


Author Info
Address & Credits

Address

Please feel free to send bug reports, comments, questions, and postcards to:

Peter Wyspianski

3-183 Wilbrod St.

Ottawa, Ont.

CANADA  K1N 6L4

Or via CompuServe at ID 73112,737

Credits

Wa-Tor was initially developed on an Amiga under Lattice C (then SAS C). Version five was developed using Borland C++ 4.5. An extra monochrome monitor was found to be most helpful for Windows debugging. The help file was prepared with the awesome ForeHelp 1.0 by ForeFront, Inc. This is one of the most functional, stable, and well-documented software packages I have ever used. I highly recommend ForeHelp 1.0 for help authoring.

My development system is a generic Pentium-60 with a Cirrus Logic 5434 PCI SVGA adaptor and a 15" Daytec Monitor. The system runs Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Norton Desktop for Windows v3.0 (with the WFWG patch). It has 8Mb of RAM (not enough, really). Storage consists of 1.2Gb Western Digital and 420Mb Conner hard drives. The 1.2Gb drive is a recent (and welcome) addition.

Thanks to beautiful Joyce for keeping me from spending all my precious free time on this project. Life must have balance and perspective and she helps me find mine. Many thanks to my friend Tien for setting me straight on the graphics. Wa-Tor is a much better program because of his advice. Finally, I owe a big "thank you" to A.K. Dewdney for thinking up Wa-Tor and all the other delightful worlds. For a thoroughly enjoyable (and fairly non-technical) journey to more of Dewdney's fantastic worlds, read The Armchair Universe.


INI file
An INI file is used in Windows to customize a program's operation.