Lua Scripts: add Coding in Lua (WIP)
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chapters/lua.md
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chapters/lua.md
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In this chapter we will talk about scripting in Lua, the tools required,
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and go over some techniques which you will probably find useful.
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* Programming
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* Tools
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* Recommended Editors
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* Integrated Programming Environments
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* Coding in Lua
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* Selection
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* Programming
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* Local and Global
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* Including other Lua Scripts
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## Programming
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Teaching you how to program is beyond the scope of this book.
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### Codecademy
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[Codecademy](http://www.codecademy.com/) is one of the best resources for learning to 'code',
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it provides an interactive tutorial experience.
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### Scratch
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[Scratch](https://scratch.mit.edu) is a good resource when starting from absolute basics,
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learning the problem solving techniques required to program.\\
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Programming is all about breaking down problems into steps a computer can manage.\\
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Scratch is **designed to teach children** how to program, it isn't a serious programming language.
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## Tools
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A text editor with code highlighting is sufficient for writing scripts in Lua.
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@ -77,6 +66,141 @@ One such IDE is Eclipse with the Koneki Lua plugin:
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* Start Minetest.
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* Enter the game to startup Lua.
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## Coding in Lua
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<div class="notice">
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This section is a Work in Progress. May be unclear.
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</div>
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Programs are a series of commands that run one after another.
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We call these commands "statements."
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Program flow is important, it allows you to direct or skip over
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statements. There are three main types of flow:
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* Sequence: Just run one statement after another, no skipping.
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* Selected: Skip over statements depending on conditions.
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* Iteration: Repeating, looping. Keep running the same
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statements until a condition is met.
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So, what do statements in Lua look like?
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{% highlight lua %}
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local a = 2 -- Set 'a' to 2
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local b = 2 -- Set 'b' to 2
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local result = a + b -- Set 'result' to a + b, which is 4
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a = a + 10
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print("Sum is "..result)
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{% endhighlight %}
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Woah, what happened there? a, b and result are **variables**. They're like what
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you get in mathematics, A = w * h. The equals signs are **assignments**, so
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"result" is set to a + b. Variable names can be longer than one character
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unlike in maths, as seen with the "result" variable. Lua is **case sensitive**.
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A is a different variable to a.
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The word "local" before they are first used means that they have local scope,
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I'll discuss that shortly.
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### Variable Types
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| Type | Description | Example |
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|----------|----------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
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| Integer | Whole number | local A = 4 |
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| Float | Decimal | local B = 3.2, local C = 5 / 2 |
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| String | A piece of text | local D = "one two three" |
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| Boolean | True or False | local is_true = false, local E = (1 == 1) |
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| Table | Lists | Explained below |
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| Function | Can run. May require inputs and may return a value | local result = func(1, 2, 3) |
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Not an exhaustive list. Doesn't contain every possible type.
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### Arithmetic Operators
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| Symbol | Purpose | Example |
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|--------|----------------|---------------------------|
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| A + B | Addition | 2 + 2 = 4 |
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| A - B | Subtraction | 2 - 10 = -8 |
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| A * B | Multiplication | 2 * 2 = 4 |
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| A / B | Division | 100 / 50 = 2 |
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| A ^ B | Powers | 2 ^ 2 = 2<sup>2</sup> = 4 |
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| A .. B | Join strings | "foo" .. "bar" = "foobar" |
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A string in programming terms is a piece of text.
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Not an exhaustive list. Doesn't contain every possible operator.
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### Selection
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The most basic selection is the if statement. It looks like this:
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{% highlight lua %}
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local random_number = math.random(1, 100) -- Between 1 and 100.
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if random_number > 50 then
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print("Woohoo!")
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else
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print("No!")
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end
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{% endhighlight %}
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That example generates a random number between 1 and 100. It then prints
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"Woohoo!" if that number is bigger than 50, overwise it prints "No!".
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What else can you get apart from '>'?
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### Logical Operators
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| Symbol | Purpose | Example |
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|---------|--------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|
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| A == B | Equals | 1 == 1 (true), 1 == 2 (false) |
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| A ~= B | Doesn't equal | 1 ~= 1 (false), 1 ~= 2 (true) |
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| A > B | Greater than | 5 > 2 (true), 1 > 2 (false), 1 > 1 (false) |
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| A < B | Less than | 1 < 3 (true), 3 < 1 (false), 1 < 1 (false) |
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| A >= B | Greater than or equals | 5 >= 5 (true), 5 >= 3 (true), 5 >= 6 (false) |
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| A <= B | Less than or equals | 3 <= 6 (true), 3 <= 3 (true) |
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| A and B | And (both must be correct) | (2 > 1) and (1 == 1) (true), (2 > 3) and (1 == 1) (false) |
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| A or B | either or. One or both must be true. | (2 > 1) or (1 == 2) (true), (2 > 4) or (1 == 3) (false) |
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| not A | not true | not (1 == 2) (true), not (1 == 1) (false) |
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That doesn't contain every possible operator, and you can combine operators like this:
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{% highlight lua %}
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if not A and B then
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print("Yay!")
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end
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{% endhighlight %}
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Which prints "Yay!" if A is false and B is true.
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Logical and arithmetic operators work exactly the same, they both accept inputs
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and return a value which can be stored.
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{% highlight lua %}
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local A = 5
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local is_equal = (A == 5)
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if is_equal then
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print("Is equal!")
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end
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{% endhighlight %}
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## Programming
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Programming is the action of talking a problem, such as sorting a list
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of items, and then turning it into steps that a computer can understand.
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Teaching you the logical process of programming is beyond the scope of this book,
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however the following websites are quite useful in developing this:
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### Codecademy
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[Codecademy](http://www.codecademy.com/) is one of the best resources for learning to 'code',
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it provides an interactive tutorial experience.
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### Scratch
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[Scratch](https://scratch.mit.edu) is a good resource when starting from absolute basics,
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learning the problem solving techniques required to program.\\
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Scratch is **designed to teach children** how to program, it isn't a serious programming language.
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## Local and Global
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Whether a variable is local or global determines where it can be written to or read to.
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