Lua Tutorial

Lua is an open-source language built on top of the C language. Lua has its value on multiple platforms ranging from large server systems to small mobile applications. This tutorial covers various topics, from the basics of Lua to its applications in various applications.

Design Purpose

Its design purpose is to be embedded in application programs, thus providing flexible extension and customization features for application programs.

Lua Features

• Lightweight: It is written in standard C language and open-source in source code form, compiled to only over a hundred K, which can be easily embedded in other programs.

• Extensible: Lua provides very easy-to-use extension interfaces and mechanisms: by the host language (usually C or C++) Providing these features, Lua can use them as if they were built-in features.

• Other Features:

• Supports procedural programming (procedure-oriented) programming and functional programming (functional programming);

• Automatic memory management; only one general type of table (table) is provided, which can be used to implement arrays, hash tables, sets, and objects;

• Built-in pattern matching; closures (closures); functions can also be seen as values; provide multi-threading (coroutines, not supported by the operating system's threads);

• Through closures and table, it can easily support some key mechanisms required for object-oriented programming, such as data abstraction, virtual functions, inheritance, and overloading, etc.

Lua Application Scenarios

• Game development

• Independent application scripts

• Web application scripts

• Extensions and database plugins such as MySQL Proxy and MySQL WorkBench

• Security systems, such as intrusion detection systems

Object-Oriented Programming

In Lua, by creating a module and table, it can easily support some key mechanisms required for object-oriented programming, such as data abstraction, inheritance, and overloading, etc.

First Lua Program

Next, we will use Lua to output 'Hello World!'.

print("Hello World!")