Preface

Lua is a small, powerful, and extendable programming language that can be used to learn to program, write games and applications, or as an embedded scripting language. This book is the easiest way to learn Lua; it introduces you to the basics of Lua and helps you 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 and then move on to other technologies, such as Love2D, to make games.