Lua Quick Start Guide: The easiest way to learn Lua programming

by Gabor Szauer

The easiest way to learn Lua programming

Key FeaturesThe easiest way to learn Lua codingUse the Lua standard libraries and debug Lua codeEmbed Lua as a scripting language using the Lua C APIBook DescriptionLua is a small, powerful and extendable scripting/programming language that can be used for learning to program, and writing games and applications, or as an embedded scripting language. There are many popular commercial projects that allow you to modify or extend them through Lua scripting, and this book will get you ready for that. This book is the easiest way to learn Lua. It introduces you to the basics of Lua and helps you to understand the problems it solves. You will work with the basic language features, the libraries Lua provides, and powerful topics such as object-oriented programming. Every aspect of programming in Lua, variables, data types, functions, tables, arrays and objects, is covered in sufficient detail for you to get started. You will also find out about Lua's module system and how to interface with the operating system.

After reading this book, you will be ready to use Lua as a programming language to write code that can interface with the operating system, automate tasks, make playable games, and much more. This book is a solid starting point for those who want to learn Lua in order to move onto other technologies such as Love2D or Roblox.

A quick start guide is a focused, shorter title that provides a faster paced introduction to a technology. It is designed for people who don't need all the details at this point in their learning curve. This presentation has been streamlined to concentrate on the things you really need to know.

What you will learnUnderstand the basics of programming the Lua languageUnderstand how to use tables, the data structure that makes Lua so powerfulUnderstand object-oriented programming in Lua using metatablesUnderstand standard LUA libraries for math, file io, and moreManipulate string data using LuaUnderstand how to debug Lua applications quickly and effcientlyUnderstand how to embed Lua into applications with the Lua C APIWho this book is forThis book is for developers who want to get up and running with Lua. This book is ideal for programmers who want to learn to embed Lua in their own applications, as well as for beginner programmers who have never coded before.

Table of ContentsIntroduction to LUAWorking with LUATables and ObjectsLUA LibrariesDebuging LUAEmbedding LUALUA BridgeNext Steps

Genres: Programming

202 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 27, 2018

Reviews

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introductory book on the Lua Programming Language. It has a lot of typos, especially in the comment section of the codes, which are not that important, but lowered the overall quality of the book.
The Lua and C codes provided, won't go into much detail, which is expected of an introductory book.

[Artyom Grigoryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book that covers everything needed for onboarding to the Lua language. However, it assumes that you are already familiar with any programming language, as it mainly demonstrates Lua's general functionalities, limitations, and syntax.
I found it to be a true "quick start" guide, although some grammatical errors are present. It appears that the authors might have written this book really quickly.
Regardless, it is still an excellent resource for learning Lua programming.

[Alexandre Martins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved. It has a very good organization and cover the main LUA points. I recommend.

[Kingsborough Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very accessible and clear!