Programming in Lua Notes

Patrick M. Elsen

Contents

Programming in Lua Notes 2

Getting Started 2

Types and Values 3

More about Functions 6

Iterators and the Generic for 6

Compilation, Execution and Errors 7

Complete Examples 9

Data Structures 10

Data Files and Persistence 11

Metatables and Metamethods 11

The Environment 13

Modules and Packages 14

Object-Oriented Programming 14

Weak Tables and Finalizers 16

The Mathematical Library 17

The Bitwise Library 17

The Table Library 18

The String Library 18

The I/O Library 19

The Simple I/O Model 20

The Complete I/O Model 20

The Operating System Library 21

The Debug Library 22

An Overview of the C API 23

About the C API 23

The Header Files 24

Extending Your Application 24

Calling a Lua function from C 24

Calling C from Lua 25

Continuations 26

Techniques for Writing C Functions 26

Array Manipulation 26

String Manipulation 27

Storing State in C Functions 28

User-Defined Types in C 30

Memory Management 30

Memory Allocation 31

The Garbage Collector 31

Programming in Lua Notes Getting Started Types and Values Expressions Statements Functions More about Functions Iterators and the Generic for Compilation, Execution and Errors Coroutines Complete Examples Data Structures Data Files and Persistence Metatables and Metamethods The Environment Modules and Packages Object-Oriented Programming Weak Tables and Finalizers Weak Tables Finalizers The Mathematical Library The Bitwise Library The Table Library The String Library The I/O Library The Simple I/O Model The Complete I/O Model The Operating System Library The Debug Library An Overview of the C API About the C API The Header Files Extending Your Application Calling a Lua function from C Calling C from Lua C Functions Continuations C Modules Techniques for Writing C Functions Array Manipulation String Manipulation Storing State in C Functions User-Defined Types in C Memory Management Memory Allocation The Garbage Collector