Lua Quick Start Guide

The easiest way to learn Lua programmingKey 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. About the Author Gabor Szauer has been making games since 2010. He graduated from Full Sail University in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in game development. Gabor maintains an active Twitter presence @gszauer and maintains a programming-oriented game development blog. Gabor's previously published books are Game Physics Programming Cookbook and Lua Quick Start Guide both published by Packt.