GameOfLifeAssignment/src/Life.java

public class Life implements ILife {

  private char[][] world = {
          {'.', '.', '.', '.', '.'},
          {'.', '.', '.', '.', '.'},
          {'.', '.', '.', '.', '.'},
          {'.', '.', '.', '.', '.'},
          {'.', '.', '.', '.', '.'}
  };
  private char[][] newWorld = world;

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    Life l = new Life(new String[] {  ".....",
                                      ".....",
                                      ".***.",
                                      ".....",
                                      "....." });
    l = (Life) l.nextGeneration();
  }


  public Life() {
    nukeAll();
  }

  public Life(String[] setup) {
    this();

    int x = 0;
    int y;


      for (y = 0; y < setup.length; y++) {
        for (x = 0; x < setup[y].length(); x++) {
          if (setup[y].charAt(x) != '.') {
            world[x][y] = '*';
          }
        }
      }
  }


  @Override
  public void nukeAll() {
    for (int y = 0; y < world.length; y++)
      for (int x = 0; x < world[y].length; x++) {
          setDead(x, y);
      }

  }

  @Override
  public void setAlive(int x, int y) {
    newWorld [x][y] = '*';

  }

  @Override
  public void setDead(int x, int y) {
      newWorld [x][y] = '.';

  }

  @Override
  public boolean isAlive(int x, int y) {
    if(world[y][x] == '*'){
      return true;
    }
    else return false;
  }

  @Override
  public ILife nextGeneration() {
    String[] s = new String[newWorld.length];
    checkNeighbors();
    for(int y = 0; y < newWorld.length; y++){
        s[y] = new String (newWorld[y]);
      System.out.println(s[y]);
    }
    return new Life(s);
  }

  private void checkNeighbors(){
    for (int y = 0; y < world.length; y++)
      for (int x = 0; x < world[y].length; x++) {
        if (!isAlive(x, y) && getNeighborCount(x, y) == 3) {
          setAlive(x, y);
        }
        else if (isAlive(x, y) && getNeighborCount(x, y) <= 1){
          setDead(x, y);
        }
        else if (isAlive(x, y) && getNeighborCount(x, y) >= 4){
          setDead(x, y);
        }
        else{
          newWorld[x][y] = world[x][y];
        }
      }
  }

  private int getNeighborCount(int x, int y){
    int aliveNeighborCount = 0;
    for(int i = -1; i<=1; i++) {
      for (int j = -1; j<=1; j++) {
        if(isAlive(x, y))
          aliveNeighborCount++;
      }
    }
    return aliveNeighborCount;
  }
}