Lua Fundamentals Training Course

Introduction to Lua

• Brief historical background
• Objectives, key features, and non-goals of Lua
• Documentation and tutorial resources
• Installing the Lua interpreter
• Configuring and utilizing LuaRocks

Basic syntax and semantics

• Identifiers
• Comments and block comments
• Global variables and strict mode enforcement
• Local variables
• Standalone programs and command-line arguments
• Compilation units, chunks, expressions, and semicolons

Data types and data structures

• Primitive types: nil, boolean, number, string
• Object types: function, userdata, thread, table
• Distinction between references/objects and primitive values
• The central role of tables in Lua

Tables: Introduction and versatility

• Using tables as associative arrays
• Using tables as numeric arrays and sequences

Basic control structures

• if, then, elseif, else, end constructs
• The while loop
• The repeat loop
• The simple for loop

Error handling

• Comparing return values and exceptions
• Converting return values into exceptions
• Converting exceptions into return values
• Error levels

Sample programs

• Polynomial evaluation
• Breadth-first search
• Supplementary exercises

Advanced function topics

• Named arguments
• Object-oriented calling conventions
• Closures
• Currying
• Tail calls
• Multiple assignment and return values
• Variable arguments (varargs)

Iterators and coroutines

• The generic for loop
• Stateless versus stateful iterators
• Distinctions between iterators and coroutines

Metatables and metamethods

• Implementing a set data structure
• The __tostring metamethod
• Arithmetic metamethods
• The __index and __newindex metamethods
• The __len metamethod

Modules and packages

• Utilizing existing modules
• Creating custom modules
• Structuring modules into packages

Object-oriented programming

• Foundational OOP elements in Lua
• Practical examples

Advanced language features

• Weak tables
• Finalizers
• Compilation, eval, and loading