WoW:Lua
← WoW Lua
Lua is a general purpose programming language, and is used as a scripting language in many popular video games such as World of Warcraft.
Lua comes from the Portuguese word for "moon" [1]. Lua was developed by a team at PUC-Rio, the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, including Roberto Ierusalimschy, Waldemar Celes and Luiz Henrique de Figueiredo[2].
In WoW Lua is used for interface programming and customization. WoW uses a custom subset of Lua version 5.1, which should suit most addon maker's needs. More information about Lua can be found on the official Lua FAQ.
Programming references
The following are places to look for information on the Lua language itself. For these it helps if you are already familiar with programming in general.
- Official Reference Manual - Contains Lua syntax and basic commands, but is a heavy, highly-technical read for those without a programming background. See Luai for and alternative way of browsing the manual.
- Programming in Lua - Definitive Lua guide by Roberto Ierusalimschy. See also the online version.
- lua-users - A Lua user group with a Wiki. Includes a FAQ, tutorials and extended help on many topics. The group also hosts a mailing list with past archive, and a IRC channel #lua at irc.freenode.net. Their LuaLinks page is very extensive.
Lua Editors
While any text editor can edit Lua files, many contain additional programming or even Lua specific features.
See Lua editors
Using Lua for WoW
Related projects include:
- WoWBench - Aims to be a near-complete emulation of the WoW environment.
- Lua 5.1.1 WoW - Distribution created by cogwheel that includes everything needed for addon development
References
See also
- Lua variable scoping - Guide for Lua scoping rules
- Lua functions - Functions available in the World of Warcraft API
- User defined functions - Useful functions written by addon authors
- Lua file - File format for a Lua file in a WoW AddOn
- Lua object memory sizes - Treatise on memory in Lua
- World of Warcraft API - Lists global API functions provided in WoW