--- Day 21: Fractal Art ---
You find a program trying to generate some art. It uses a strange process that involves repeatedly enhancing the detail of an image through a set of rules.
The image consists of a two-dimensional square grid of pixels that are either on (#
) or off (.
). The program always begins with this pattern:
.#.
..#
###
Because the pattern is both 3
pixels wide and 3
pixels tall, it is said to have a size of 3
.
Then, the program repeats the following process:
- If the size is evenly divisible by
2
, break the pixels up into2x2
squares, and convert each2x2
square into a3x3
square by following the corresponding enhancement rule. - Otherwise, the size is evenly divisible by
3
; break the pixels up into3x3
squares, and convert each3x3
square into a4x4
square by following the corresponding enhancement rule.
Because each square of pixels is replaced by a larger one, the image gains pixels and so its size increases.
The artist's book of enhancement rules is nearby (your puzzle input); however, it seems to be missing rules. The artist explains that sometimes, one must rotate or flip the input pattern to find a match. (Never rotate or flip the output pattern, though.) Each pattern is written concisely: rows are listed as single units, ordered top-down, and separated by slashes. For example, the following rules correspond to the adjacent patterns:
../.# = ..
.#
.#.
.#./..#/### = ..#
###
#..#
#..#/..../#..#/.##. = ....
#..#
.##.
When searching for a rule to use, rotate and flip the pattern as necessary. For example, all of the following patterns match the same rule:
.#. .#. #.. ###
..# #.. #.# ..#
### ### ##. .#.
Suppose the book contained the following two rules:
../.# => ##./#../...
.#./..#/### => #..#/..../..../#..#
As before, the program begins with this pattern:
.#.
..#
###
The size of the grid (3
) is not divisible by 2
, but it is divisible by 3
. It divides evenly into a single square; the square matches the second rule, which produces:
#..#
....
....
#..#
The size of this enhanced grid (4
) is evenly divisible by 2
, so that rule is used. It divides evenly into four squares:
#.|.#
..|..
--+--
..|..
#.|.#
Each of these squares matches the same rule (../.# => ##./#../...
), three of which require some flipping and rotation to line up with the rule. The output for the rule is the same in all four cases:
##.|##.
#..|#..
...|...
---+---
##.|##.
#..|#..
...|...
Finally, the squares are joined into a new grid:
##.##.
#..#..
......
##.##.
#..#..
......
Thus, after 2
iterations, the grid contains 12
pixels that are on.
How many pixels stay on after 5
iterations?