Embedding Lua in an Application?
One of Lua’s most appreciated uses is in exposing select internal routines through Lua’s efficient interpreter, such that users and developers may extend and customise an application’s functionality. Lua is also an ideal candidate for modular cross-platform code within an application, or across its components. Applications that use Lua in these ways include Adobe Lightroom, World-of-Warcraft, VLC, Lighttpd, and more. Embedding Lua will only add about 150-200K to your project, depending on what extra libraries are chosen. It was designed to be an extension language and it is straightforward to ensure that any user scripts operate in a ‘safe’ environment (see Sandboxing.) You do not even have to embed the compiler front-end of Lua, and just use the core with precompiled scripts. This can get the memory footprint down to about 40K. The reasons that make Lua an ideal extension language are related to the common complaint from ‘scripters’ that Lua ‘does not come with batteries’. The Lua cor
One of Lua’s most appreciated uses is in exposing select internal routines through Lua’s efficient interpreter, such that users and developers may extend and customise an application’s functionality. Lua is also an ideal candidate for modular cross-platform code within an application, or across its components. Applications that use Lua in these ways include Adobe Lightroom, World-of-Warcraft, VLC, Lighttpd, and more. Embedding Lua will only add about 150-200K to your project, depending on what extra libraries are chosen. It was designed to be an extension language and it is straightforward to ensure that any user scripts operate in a ‘safe’ environment (see Sandboxing.) You do not even have to embed the compiler front-end of Lua, and just use the core with pre-compiled scripts. This can get the memory footprint down to about 40K. The reasons that make Lua an ideal extension language are related to the common complaint from ‘scripters’ that Lua ‘does not come with batteries’. The Lua co
