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Programming in Lua, Second Edition 2nd Edition
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- ISBN-108590379825
- ISBN-13978-8590379829
- Edition2nd
- PublisherLua.org
- Publication dateMarch 5, 2006
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions7.44 x 0.69 x 9.69 inches
- Print length328 pages
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About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Lua.org; 2nd edition (March 5, 2006)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 328 pages
- ISBN-10 : 8590379825
- ISBN-13 : 978-8590379829
- Item Weight : 1.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.44 x 0.69 x 9.69 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,295,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,113 in Software Development (Books)
- #4,284 in Programming Languages (Books)
- #4,698 in Computer Software (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Roberto Ierusalimschy is the leading architect of the Lua programming language, driving its development since its inception in 1993. He is a full professor of Computer Science at PUC-Rio (the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro), where he works with programming-language design and implementation.
Roberto has a M.Sc. Degree and a D.Sc. Degree in Computer Science, both from PUC-Rio. He was a visiting researcher at the University of Waterloo, ICSI, GMD, and UIUC, and a Tinker Professor at Stanford. As a professor at PUC-Rio, Roberto was the advisor of several students that later became influential members of the Lua community. Roberto is also a member of the IFIP Working Group on Language Design.
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I am currently on chapter 5 of this book which goes into functions in detail. So far I've loved the book, it has given me a lot of information that I've been searching for. I also have the reference manual for version 5.1 of Lua in book format and using the two books together is indispensable. You can find the reference manual for free at lua.org. I jumped at the chance to buy the reference manual because Lua is an open source project, I prefer books over computer screens, and the guys that have worked tirelessly developing this language deserve a little help to keep it going.
I am a beginning programmer, I have done a little bit of C++ programming but that was years ago at the age of 14, I'm 19 now, almost 20. I work in the field of I.T. and currently do web design and page maintenance for California Pacific Medical Center. This book is easy to read, I don't mind the typesetting I think it's fine. It's teaching me everything I want to know. I'm finally starting to write scripts that are actually useful and when I read books on programming I like to buy a new mini-notebook and take copious amounts of notes so that I end up creating my own reference manual in my own words. This book has been enjoyable to read and take notes on, I'm learning a lot, I hope that eventually I'll be starting some interesting projects and writing World of Warcraft add-ons.
The second edition is as eloquently written as the first (which is available online), but with new material and even more examples. In little time it introduced me to all aspects of the latest version of Lua -- 5.1 -- which includes a number of new features such as the new package system. Being a newcomer, it was nice to have a recent book covering all aspects of this latest version.
The book is well organized. It works as both a primer and complete course on the langauge. It covers the basic tenets and first principles, as well as the subtleties. It is written in the spirit of Lua: accomplishing much in minimal space. It does so through crisp, engaging writing and thorough, well-crafted examples. It is one of those books that feels timeless -- so well done that you mark your name on it with a Sharpie.
Lua is both a language and developer's tool. Part IV of the book, devoted to the C API, is as thorough for developers as the preceding parts are for language users. As I am using Lua in a multi-threaded environment, the second edition had the perfect example covering everything I needed to know -- from managing multiple states (interpreters) to wrapping C/C++ data structures.
I was so pleased with the book, I emailed the author. If you use Lua, and especially if you are new to Lua, you won't be disappointed with this edition.
Lua is very different from C, and so allows a programmer to easily do things that are difficult in C. That makes it a perfect companion language. The only obstacle is training a C programmer to use it! That's where the book becomes useful. It's a quick read and covers all the essentials.
Even better, Lua is so well-connected to C that it is easy to switch back and forth in the course of a typical programming day, writing performance code in C and high-level logic in Lua. It is even possible to easily interact with Lua data structures in C without writing Lua code for situations where the data structures are desirable but Lua code isn't required. If you're looking for a scripting language for your next project, you need to know about Lua, and this book is the quickest way to make an informed decision.
Also, don't expect this book to be limited to an introduction to the language. That introduction is pretty solidly handled in the first 60 pages or so. For your money, you also get information on integrating your Lua code with your C code, techniques for coroutines and multi-threading, and advanced uses of the Lua table object (including object-oriented programming).
But wait -- there's more! There's a run-through of Lua's standard libraries which is not your standard printout of the online documents -- it's full of useful, progressive examples. I found the string library documentation particularly useful. Just by reading the table of contents you'll see that this is a very well-thought-out book, and I can vouch for its execution being excellent as well.
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fell in love with it. This book has the makings of a classic text that you will enjoy owning. Its so refreshing to find a well written, small book on a programming language with a huge power to weight ratio. The book covers all aspects of the language and acts as tutorial, reference and language specification. As a regular user of the AWK scripting language I would have appreciated better examples on how to acheive the AWK split() function but otherwise the book provides a large range of really useful code fragments. Congratulations to the author.










