🧬 Conway Game of Life — Blazor WebAssembly + ASP.NET Core API

Interactive implementation of Conway’s Game of Life, built with Blazor WebAssembly (frontend), ASP.NET Core Web API (backend), and SQL Server (persistent storage).

The application allows users to:

• Create and customize boards
• Toggle cells manually
• Step through generations
• Run automated simulations
• Save, load, and delete boards stored in a database

---

🎮 Project Overview

This project recreates the famous Conway's Game of Life, a classic cellular automaton that demonstrates how complex behavior emerges from simple rules.

It is built using a three-project architecture:

• Blazor WebAssembly — the interactive UI
• ASP.NET Core API — manages board storage
• Shared library — contains DTOs shared between client & server

This separation follows clean architectural patterns and enables the client to communicate with the backend through REST.

---

⚙️ Features

🟩 Simulation Controls

• Next generation
• Clear board
• Adjustable width & height
• Create new board
• Auto-play for multiple generations

💾 Persistent Storage (API + SQL Server)

• Save boards with custom names
• List previously saved boards
• Load a selected board
• Delete saved entries

🎨 UI Highlights

• Responsive sidebar menu
• Bootstrap 5 modern styling
• Inline success messages
• Interactive table with saved boards

---

🛠️ Technology Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	Blazor WebAssembly (.NET 8)
Backend	ASP.NET Core 8 Web API
Database	SQL Server
ORM	Entity Framework Core
UI	Bootstrap 5
Shared	.NET Class Library (DTOs)

---

📡 API Endpoints

GET /api/boards

Returns a list of all saved boards.

GET /api/boards/{id}

Returns the full board including its cell matrix.

POST /api/boards

Saves a board to the database.

DELETE /api/boards/{id}

Deletes a board from the database.

Boards are stored in compact string format: 1,0,1;0,1,0;1,1,1

---

📂 Repository Structure

ConowayGameOfLife/
├── ConowayGameOfLife/ # Blazor WebAssembly client
│ ├── Pages/
│ ├── Layout/
│ ├── wwwroot/
│ ├── Program.cs
│ └── GameOfLifeService.cs
│
├── ConowayGameOfLife.Api/ # ASP.NET Core Web API
│ ├── Controllers/
│ │ └── GameBoardController.cs
│ ├── Data/
│ │ └── AppDbContext.cs
│ ├── Models/
│ │ └── GameBoardEntity.cs
│ └── Program.cs
│
├── ConowayGameOfLife.Shared/ # Shared DTOs
│ ├── BoardDTo.cs
│ └── BoardSummaryDto.cs
│
└── README.md

---

🧠 Game Logic (Summary)

The Game of Life evolves based on simple rules applied to each cell:

1. Underpopulation:
   A live cell with fewer than 2 neighbors dies.
2. Survival:
   A live cell with 2–3 neighbors lives on.
3. Overpopulation:
   A live cell with more than 3 neighbors dies.
4. Reproduction:
   A dead cell with exactly 3 neighbors becomes alive.

---

🚀 Running the Project Locally

(Full Guide)
This project consists of two applications that must run at the same time:

• ConowayGameOfLife.Api — backend (ASP.NET Core Web API + SQL Server)
• ConowayGameOfLife — frontend (Blazor WebAssembly)

Follow the steps below to prepare your environment.

🧱 1. Prerequisites

Before running the project, install:
Install the following:
✔️ .NET SDK 8
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet/8.0

✔️ SQL Server
(Express / Developer Edition / LocalDB)

✔️ SQL Server Management Studio (optional)
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/ssms/download-sql-server-management-studio-ssms

✔️ Entity Framework Core Tools

1. Run the following command in PowerShell or Command Prompt:
   dotnet tool install --global dotnet-ef
   You can verify installation with:
   dotnet ef
2. Install EF Core packages for the API project
   NuGet packages required by the backend:

Package	Description
Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore	Core EF functionality
Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.SqlServer	SQL Server provider
Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Tools	Migration support

---

📥 2. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/YourUserName/ConowayGameOfLife.git
cd ConowayGameOfLife

Open solution in Visual Studio 2022.

🗄️ 3. Configure Database Connection

Open: ConowayGameOfLife.Api/appsettings.json

"ConnectionStrings": {
  "AppDbContext": "Server=YOUR_SERVER_NAME;Database=GameOfLifeDB;Trusted_Connection=True;TrustServerCertificate=True;"
}

Replace YOUR_SERVER_NAME with your local SQL Server instance.

🛠️ 4. Apply Database Migrations

In Visual Studio:
Open Package Manager Console:

Tools → NuGet Package Manager → Package Manager Console

Run: Update-Database

This will automatically create:

• The database GameOfLifeDB
• The table GameBoards

🧩 5. Start the API

In Visual Studio:

• Right-click ConowayGameOfLife.Api
• Select Set as Startup Project
• Click Run ▶️

API should start on: https://localhost:7183
Check it in the browser: https://localhost:7183/swagger

You should see the Swagger UI.

🌐 6. Configure the Blazor Client

Open: ConowayGameOfLife/Program.cs

Make sure the API URL is correct:

builder.Services.AddScoped(sp =>
    new HttpClient { BaseAddress = new Uri("https://localhost:7183/") });

This means Blazor client sends all requests to your running API.

🖥️ 7. Start the Blazor WebAssembly App

Now set frontend as startup:

1. Right-click ConowayGameOfLife
2. Choose Set as Startup Project
3. Click Run ▶️

Blazor app will start at: http://localhost:5052

🔄 8. Run Both Projects Together

You can also configure multiple startup projects:
Visual Studio → Solution properties → Startup Project

Project	Action
ConowayGameOfLife.Api	Start
ConowayGameOfLife	Start
ConowayGameOfLife.Shared	None

Click Apply → OK
Now both API + client will launch with a single Run click.

🧪 9. Confirm Everything Works

Open Blazor app → click Table Data ▼
You should NOT see errors.
You should see an empty list or saved boards.

Try:

• Create a board
• Save it
• Open SQL Server → see the DB entry
• Load/Delete If it works — the environment is fully configured.

---

🧑‍💻 Author

Created by Avuii