ECE 4122/6122 Lab 4: CUDA-based John Conway’s Game of Life
(100 pts)
Category: CUDA
Due: Tuesday November 8th
, 2024 by 11:59 PM
Objective:
Implement a C++ CUDA program to run the Game of Life.
Game Description:
The Game of Life (an example of a cellular automaton) is played on an infinite two-dimensional 
rectangular grid of cells. Each cell can be either alive or dead. The status of each cell changes 
each turn of the game (also called a generation) depending on the statuses of that cell's 8 
neighbors. Neighbors of a cell are cells that touch that cell, either horizontal, vertical, or diagonal 
from that cell.
The initial pattern is the first generation. The second generation evolves from applying the rules 
simultaneously to every cell on the game board, i.e. births and deaths happen simultaneously. 
Afterwards, the rules are iteratively applied to create future generations. For each generation 
of the game, a cell's status in the next generation is determined by a set of rules. These simple 
rules are as follows:
• If the cell is alive, then it stays alive if it has either 2 or 3 live neighbors
• If the cell is dead, then it springs to life only in the case that it has 3 live neighbors
There are, of course, as many variations to these rules as there are different combinations of 
numbers to use for determining when cells live or die. Conway tried many of these different 
variants before settling on these specific rules. Some of these variations cause the populations 
to quickly die out, and others expand without limit to fill up the entire universe, or some large 
portion thereof.
Assignment:
1) Write a C++ application that takes up to 5 command line arguments to dynamically change the 
number of processing threads ( >= 2), cell size, the image size and the type of memory allocation. 
Below is an example
 ./Lab2 -c 5 -x 800 -y 600 -t NORMAL
The flags
-n is the number of threads per block (must be a multiple of 32), 
-c is used to denote the “cell size” with cells being square (c >=1), 
-x is the window width, 
-y is the window height
-t is either NORMAL, PINNED, or MANAGED. This is the type of memory to use either normal, 
pinned, or managed.
The grid size used for calculations and display is the (window size)/(cell size).
If one of the flags above is missing then automatically use the defaults:
-n defaults to 32
-c defaults to 5
-x and -y default to 800 by 600 respectively.
-t defaults to NORMAL
2) Write your code using three functions: one for the normal memory allocation, one for pinned 
memory allocation, and one for managed memory allocation. 
3) Your code needs to use a random number generator to initially set the individual grid element to 
either “alive” or “dead”. 
4) Your code then runs continuously generating new results until either the window is closed or the 
“Esc” key is pressed. 
5) While your code is running you need to display to a graphics window the current state of the Life 
game. Cells that are alive are white and dead cells are black. You don’t need to draw the dead 
cells.
6) While your code is running you need to constantly output to the console window the processing 
time in microseconds of the last 100 generations of the game and the type of memory allocation. 
Do not include the time it takes to display the results.
For example:
100 generations took ??? microsecs with 32 threads per block using Normal memory allocation.
100 generations took ??? microsecs with 64 threads per block using Pinned memory allocation.
100 generations took ??? microsecs with 1024 threads per block using Managed memory allocation.
Turn-In Instructions
Zip up your file(s) into Lab4.zip and upload this zip file on the assignment section of Canvas. 
Grading Rubric:
If a student’s program runs correctly and produces the desired output, the student has the potential to get a 100 
on his or her homework; however, TA’s will look through your code for other elements needed to meet the lab 
requirements. The table below shows typical deductions that could occur. 
AUTOMATIC GRADING POINT DEDUCTIONS PER PROBLEM: 
Element Percentage 
Deduction 
Details 
Does Not Compile 40% Code does not compile on PACE-ICE!
Does Not Match Output Up to 90% The code compiles but does not produce correct outputs.
Runtime and efficiency of 
code setup
Up to 10% 
extra credit
Top quartile 10 pts, Second quartile 5 pts, Third quartile 2 pts.
Clear Self-Documenting 
Coding Styles 
Up to 25% This can include incorrect indentation, using unclear variable names, 
unclear/missing comments, or compiling with warnings. (See 
Appendix A) 
LATE POLICY 
Element Percentage Deduction Details 
Late Deduction Function score – 0.5 * H H = number of hours (ceiling function) passed 
deadline 
Appendix A: Coding Standards
Indentation:
When using if/for/while statements, make sure you indent 4 spaces for the content inside those. Also make 
sure that you use spaces to make the code more readable.
For example:
for (int i; i < 10; i++) 
{
 j = j + i; 
}
If you have nested statements, you should use multiple indentions. Each { should be on its own line (like the 
for loop) If you have else or else if statements after your if statement, they should be on their own line. 
for (int i; i < 10; i++) 
{ 
 if (i < 5)
 {
 counter++; 
 k -= i; 
 } 
 else
 { 
 k +=1;
 } 
 j += i;
}
Camel Case:
This naming convention has the first letter of the variable be lower case, and the first letter in each new word 
be capitalized (e.g. firstSecondThird). 
This applies for functions and member functions as well! 
The main exception to this is class names, where the first letter should also be capitalized. 
Variable and Function Names:
Your variable and function names should be clear about what that variable or function represents. Do not use 
one letter variables, but use abbreviations when it is appropriate (for example: “imag" instead of 
“imaginary”). The more descriptive your variable and function names are, the more readable your code will 
be. This is the idea behind self-documenting code. 
File Headers:
Every file should have the following header at the top
/*
Author: your name
Class: ECE4122 or ECE6122 (section)
Last Date Modified: date
Description:
What is the purpose of this file?
*/
Code Comments:
1. Every function must have a comment section describing the purpose of the function, the input and 
output parameters, the return value (if any).
2. Every class must have a comment section to describe the purpose of the class.
3. Comments need to be placed inside of functions/loops to assist in the understanding of the flow of 
the code.

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