Customer Reviews

World of Warcraft Programming: A Guide and Reference for Creating WoW Addons

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Wow. Now this is a gem of a programming reference. The bar to writing tech references is really low these days, and as a result there are lots of tech books on the market that are really empty and only end up giving you one or two useful concepts.

This is not one of those books.

I just got my copy today, and my initial impression was how impressed I was by the thoroughness of it. This is a reference that will be of use for people of all skill and experience levels. The opening chapters provide a great introduction to Lua itself, then Lua in the context of WoW, and then hold your hand through creating your first addon, before diving into more complex concepts such as programmatic UI creation and state headers.

I'm the author of a number of high-profile WoW addons, including Omen and Chatter, and I can honestly say that this is a book that I'll actually use - and I don't use many references. Gentle enough for the new programmer, but meaty enough for the experienced. This is one that will be of genuine use to anyone interested in modding WoW, or understanding the WoW mod UI system. This is a genuine, stick-it-on-your-desk, mark-it-up-and-dog-ear-the-pages reference that you'll use for as long as you're developing addons.

Of note, this is actually a reference that may be of use to people embedding Lua in their own software projects. It dissects WoW's implementation of Lua, and how it ties into the user interface, and explains a lot of concepts that may be of use to people looking to use Lua in a non-WoW context. It's certainly not a reference on embedding Lua in your own application, but its explanation of WoW's implementation is a fantastic reference point.

If you have any interest at all in addon development, get this book.

I'm a game designer who's currently just getting into Lua scripting, and of the 7 or so game dev books I've bought recently this book is EASILY the best. It's useful for ANYONE working on WoW Addons, and also a great buy for anyone learning Lua scripting.

Unlike most of the game dev literature I've seen, this book totally avoids wasting paper on descriptive waffle that is obvious to anyone who plays games (and everyone who makes games does, or should).

For beginners - The introduction to scripting in Lua is MUCH easier to digest than any of the Lua-specific tutorials online, or 'Programming in Lua'.

For experienced scripters or mod-makers - There are over 600 pages on reference, so even if you've got nothing to learn technically, it's still a worthy buy.

I just got this book and love it. Very useful coming from a novice programmer with no knowledge of LUA programming. It's a very thick book over 1000 pages and well written. The book is written by a few authors that have created some very nice and complex addons. Between the book and their website anyone can pick up programming in WoW. If anyone wants to write their own addons in WoW or just learn to modify some that they use, then this book is a must have.

Do not let the cover fool you. This book is HUGE with 1022 pages full of references, examples and more.

I am a beginning programmer in lua and WoW addons and I have other programming languages under my belt which helps me out. This book will explain it to the novice as well as provide an excellent resource for the advanced programmer.

You cannot beat the price for the quality you get. I have paid twice as much for books with 1/2 that information.

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to make their own WoW addons.

Full disclosure: I helped author Chapter 14, the chapter on AddOn Studio for World of Wacraft, but did not receive compensation for it.

There's no question in my mind that this is the definitive book, dare I say the Bible on World of Warcraft programming. If you're a developer who is brand new to Lua, you'll find the first couple of chapters that introduce Lua coding structures a breeze to read, but you'll definitely appreciate the attention to detail for Lua's unique Table data structure which is heavily used in addons and can be confusing for Lua newbies.

In addition to learning the fundamentals on Lua, you'll also learn how a Warcraft AddOn works (anatomy of an addon chapter), how FrameXML files work, and you'll also apply that knowledge to build a fully-functional custom unit frames addon from scratch.

The build-from-scratch model is perfect for someone who want to know and understand everything involved in building a real-world addon.

You'll find plenty of coverage on topics that you won't find anywhere else, like how to build custom graphics/textures, a topic that is either altogether ignored or barely represented online. If you're an experienced addon author, you'll also learn quite a bit from the coverage of best practices and advanced topics (state headers, secure frames, etc)

Finally, the API documentation is *huge* and is arguably the most detailed API documentation every built for Warcraft.

Bottom line: If you want to learn how to build a Warcraft AddOn, save yourself time, energy, and frustration, and buy this book.

This book is *required reading* for contributors to AddOn Studio for World of Warcraft.

Dan Fernandez
Project Coordinator
AddOn Studio for World of Warcraft

I've been struggling to write an add-on for World of Warcraft, and have mostly been using the WoWWiki site with various other framework sites to learn. While those resources have been pretty helpful, this book has provided a clear, concise explanation of Lua and the WoW API that is unrivaled. In the week that I've owned it, I've been able to accomplish more with my own add-on than ever.

I am new to writing addons, some programming experience, and this book was very helpful in getting an understanding of the system. It has helped me write my first simple addon. More to come with experience.

This book was definitely worth the money. While it did not have me creating extreme UI modifications right away, it did provide the stepping stone i needed to go on and eventually learn to write bigger and better addons. The book give very useful information on Lua in general and then goes in depth to explain exactly how to program in World of Warcraft.

I would recommend this book for anyone wanting to learn to create addons. While it won't boost you to a master of creating addons, it will give you that stepping stone that has seemed to be missing since WoW's release. The API reference also helps anyone interested in writing addons, whether they be novice or master.

Programming in WoW is extremely fun; takes me back to the old days of learning a new programming language for the first time. I have also missed Waite Group Press and glad to see they are making a comeback (still love their unmatched use of high-quality thin paper). This book starts off by giving the reader access to a custom WoW plugin called WoWLua, which is a LUA editor that works right inside WoW itself. There is also a larger addon environment/IDE for working with graphics, etc, right inside WoW. So, to answer the most common question, you don't need to shut down WoW and restart it every time you make changes to your scripts! I am an instructor who is using this book for a LUA programming class and enjoying it very much.

If you want to write that killer add-on for World of Warcraft that nobody has quite gotten right yet, then this is the book to start with. I have been programming for many years but this book has a lot to offer to a kid just jumping in to the exciting world of code smithing or an old pro who just needs to know what Lua is all about. It is written by the guys that are doing it not just talking about it. Just the sections on the API reference is worth the price of admition. If you want to be WOWed by WoW, then cozy up to the glow of your nearest monitor and dig in.