Luaisasmall,powerfulandextendablescripting/programminglanguagethatcanbeusedforlearningtoprogram,andwritinggamesandapplications,orasanembeddedscriptinglanguage.TherearemanypopularcommercialprojectsthatallowyoutomodifyorextendthemthroughLuascripting,andthisbookwillgetyoureadyforthat.ThisbookistheeasiestwaytolearnLua.ItintroducesyoutothebasicsofLuaandhelpsyoutounderstandtheproblemsitsolves.Youwillworkwiththebasiclanguagefeatures,thelibrariesLuaprovides,andpowerfultopicssuchasobject-orientedprogramming.EveryaspectofprogramminginLua,variables,datatypes,functions,tables,arraysandobjects,iscoveredinsufficientdetailforyoutogetstarted.YouwillalsofindoutaboutLua'smodulesystemandhowtointerfacewiththeoperatingsystem.Afterreadingthisbook,youwillbereadytouseLuaasaprogramminglanguagetowritecodethatcaninterfacewiththeoperatingsystem,automatetasks,makeplayablegames,andmuchmore.ThisbookisasolidstartingpointforthosewhowanttolearnLuainordertomoveontoothertechnologiessuchasLove2DorRoblox.Aquickstartguideisafocused,shortertitlethatprovidesafasterpacedintroductiontoatechnology.Itisdesignedforpeoplewhodon'tneedallthedetailsatthispointintheirlearningcurve.Thispresentationhasbeenstreamlinedtoconcentrateonthethingsyoureallyneedtoknow.