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diff --git a/doc/readme.html b/doc/readme.html index 38be6db..5cb41d4 100644..100755 --- a/doc/readme.html +++ b/doc/readme.html @@ -1,7 +1,25 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> -<TITLE>Lua documentation</TITLE> +<TITLE>Lua 5.2 readme</TITLE> <LINK REL="stylesheet" TYPE="text/css" HREF="lua.css"> +<META HTTP-EQUIV="content-type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +blockquote, .display { + color: black ; + padding: 8px ; + border: solid #a0a0a0 2px ; + xbackground-color: #EFEFFF ; + margin-left: 0px ; +} + +tt, kbd, code { + font-size: 120% ; + xcolor: black ; + xpadding: 4px ; + xbackground-color: #E0E0E0 ; +} +</STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY> @@ -9,32 +27,381 @@ <HR> <H1> <A HREF="http://www.lua.org/"><IMG SRC="logo.gif" ALT="Lua" BORDER=0></A> -Documentation +Welcome to Lua 5.2 (beta) </H1> -This is the documentation included in the source distribution of Lua 5.1.4. +<P> +<IMG SRC="alert.png" ALIGN="absbottom" ALT="[!]"> +<EM>This is a beta version of Lua 5.2. +Some details may change in the final version.</EM> -<UL> -<LI><A HREF="contents.html">Reference manual</A> -<LI><A HREF="lua.html">lua man page</A> -<LI><A HREF="luac.html">luac man page</A> -<LI><A HREF="../README">lua/README</A> -<LI><A HREF="../etc/README">lua/etc/README</A> -<LI><A HREF="../test/README">lua/test/README</A> -</UL> +<P> +<A HREF="#about">about</A> +· +<A HREF="#install">installation</A> +· +<A HREF="#changes">changes</A> +· +<A HREF="#license">license</A> +· +<A HREF="contents.html">reference manual</A> +<HR> +<H2><A NAME="about">About Lua</A></H2> + +<P> +Lua is a powerful, fast, lightweight, embeddable scripting language +developed by a +<A HREF="http://www.lua.org/authors.html">team</A> +at +<A HREF="http://www.puc-rio.br/">PUC-Rio</A>, +the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. +Lua is +<A HREF="#license">free software</A> +used in many products and projects around the world. + +<P> Lua's <A HREF="http://www.lua.org/">official web site</A> -contains updated documentation, +provides complete information +about Lua, +including +an +<A HREF="http://www.lua.org/about.html">executive summary</A> +and +updated +<A HREF="http://www.lua.org/docs.html">documentation</A>, especially the -<A HREF="http://www.lua.org/manual/5.1/">reference manual</A>. +<A HREF="http://www.lua.org/manual/5.2/">reference manual</A>, +which may differ slightly from the +<A HREF="contents.html">local copy</A> +distributed in this package. + +<H2><A NAME="install">Installing Lua</A></H2> + +<P> +Lua is distributed in +<A HREF="http://www.lua.org/ftp/">source</A> +form. +You need to build it before using it. +Building Lua should be straightforward +because +Lua is implemented in pure ANSI C, and compiles unmodified in all known +platforms that have an ANSI C compiler. +Lua also compiles unmodified as C++. +The instructions given below for building Lua are for Unix-like platforms. +See also +<A HREF="#other">instructions for other systems</A> +and +<A HREF="#customization">customization options</A>. + +<P> +If you don't have the time or the inclination to compile Lua yourself, +get a binary from +<A HREF="http://lua-users.org/wiki/LuaBinaries">LuaBinaries</A>. +Try also +<A HREF="http://luaforwindows.luaforge.net/">Lua for Windows</A>, +an easy-to-use distribution of Lua that includes many useful libraries. + +<!-- +<P> +If you only want to try Lua, +try the +<A HREF="demo.html">live demo</A>. +<P> +--> + +<H3>Building Lua</H3> + +<P> +In most Unix-like platforms, simply do "<KBD>make</KBD>" with a suitable target. +Here are the details. + +<OL> +<LI> +Open a terminal window and move to +the top-level directory, which is named lua-5.2.0. +The Makefile there controls both the build process and the installation process. +<P> +<LI> + Do "<KBD>make</KBD>" and see if your platform is listed. + The platforms currently supported are: +<BLOCKQUOTE> + aix ansi bsd freebsd generic linux macosx mingw posix solaris +</BLOCKQUOTE> +<P> + If your platform is listed, just do "<KBD>make xxx</KBD>", where xxx + is your platform name. +<P> + If your platform is not listed, try the closest one or posix, generic, + ansi, in this order. +<P> +<LI> +The compilation takes only a few moments +and produces three files in the src directory: +lua (the interpreter), +luac (the compiler), +and liblua.a (the library). +<P> +<LI> + To check that Lua has been built correctly, do "<KBD>make test</KBD>" + after building Lua. This will run the interpreter and print its version string. +</OL> + +<H3>Installing Lua</H3> +<P> + Once you have built Lua, you may want to install it in an official + place in your system. In this case, do "<KBD>make install</KBD>". The official + place and the way to install files are defined in Makefile. You'll + probably need the right permissions to install files. + +<P> + To build and install Lua in one step, do "<KBD>make xxx install</KBD>", + where xxx is your platform name. + +<P> + To install Lua locally, do "<KBD>make local</KBD>". + This will create a directory <TT>install</TT> with subdirectories + <TT>bin</TT>, <TT>include</TT>, <TT>lib</TT>, <TT>man</TT>, + and install Lua as listed below. + + To install Lua locally, but in some other directory, do + "<KBD>make install INSTALL_TOP=xxx</KBD>", where xxx is your chosen directory. + +<DL CLASS="display"> +<DT> + bin: +<DD> + lua luac +<DT> + include: +<DD> + lua.h luaconf.h lualib.h lauxlib.h lua.hpp +<DT> + lib: +<DD> + liblua.a +<DT> + man/man1: +<DD> + lua.1 luac.1 +</DL> + +<P> + These are the only directories you need for development. + If you only want to run Lua programs, + you only need the files in bin and man. + The files in include and lib are needed for + embedding Lua in C or C++ programs. + +<H3><A NAME="customization">Customization</A></H3> +<P> + Three kinds of things can be customized by editing a file: +<UL> + <LI> Where and how to install Lua — edit Makefile. + <LI> How to build Lua — edit src/Makefile. + <LI> Lua features — edit src/luaconf.h. +</UL> + +<P> + You don't actually need to edit the Makefiles because you may set the + relevant variables in the command line when invoking make. + Nevertheless, it's probably best to edit and save the Makefiles to + record the changes you need. + +<P> + On the other hand, if you need to customize some Lua features, you'll need + to edit src/luaconf.h before building and installing Lua. + The edited file will be the one installed, and + it will be used by any Lua clients that you build, to ensure consistency. + Further customization is available to experts by editing the Lua sources. + +<P> + We strongly recommend that you enable dynamic loading in src/luaconf.h. + This is done automatically for all platforms listed above that have + this feature and also for Windows. + +<H3><A NAME="other">Building Lua on other systems</A></H3> + +<P> + If you're not using the usual Unix tools, then the instructions for + building Lua depend on the compiler you use. You'll need to create + projects (or whatever your compiler uses) for building the library, + the interpreter, and the compiler, as follows: + +<DL CLASS="display"> +<DT> +library: +<DD> +lapi.c lcode.c lctype.c ldebug.c ldo.c ldump.c lfunc.c lgc.c llex.c +lmem.c lobject.c lopcodes.c lparser.c lstate.c lstring.c ltable.c +ltm.c lundump.c lvm.c lzio.c +lauxlib.c lbaselib.c lbitlib.c lcorolib.c ldblib.c liolib.c +lmathlib.c loslib.c lstrlib.c ltablib.c loadlib.c linit.c + +<DT> +interpreter: +<DD> + library, lua.c +<DT> +compiler: +<DD> + library, luac.c +</DL> + +<P> + To use Lua as a library in your own programs you'll need to know how to + create and use libraries with your compiler. Moreover, to dynamically load + C libraries for Lua you'll need to know how to create dynamic libraries + and you'll need to make sure that the Lua API functions are accessible to + those dynamic libraries — but <EM>don't</EM> link the Lua library + into each dynamic library. For Unix, we recommend that the Lua library + be linked statically into the host program and its symbols exported for + dynamic linking; src/Makefile does this for the Lua interpreter. + For Windows, we recommend that the Lua library be a DLL. + +<P> + As mentioned above, you may edit src/luaconf.h to customize + some features before building Lua. + +<H2><A NAME="changes">Changes since Lua 5.1</A></H2> + +<P> +Here are the main changes introduced in Lua 5.2. +The +<A HREF="contents.html">reference manual</A> +lists the +<A HREF="manual.html#8">incompatibilities</A> that had to be introduced. + +<H3>Main changes</H3> +<UL> +<LI> yieldable pcall and metamethods +<LI> new lexical scheme for globals +<LI> ephemeron tables +<LI> new library for bitwise operations +<LI> light C functions +<LI> emergency garbage collector +<LI> <CODE>goto</CODE> statement +<LI> finalizers for tables +</UL> + +Here are the other changes introduced in Lua 5.2: +<H3>Language</H3> +<UL> +<LI> no more fenv for threads or functions +<LI> tables honor the <CODE>__len</CODE> metamethod +<LI> hex and <CODE>\*</CODE> escapes in strings +<LI> support for hexadecimal floats +<LI> order metamethods work for different types +<LI> no more verification of opcode consistency +<LI> hook event "tail return" replaced by "tail call" +<LI> empty statement +<LI> <CODE>break</CODE> statement may appear in the middle of a block +</UL> + +<H3>Libraries</H3> +<UL> +<LI> arguments for function called through <CODE>xpcall</CODE> +<LI> optional 'mode' argument to load (to control binary x text) +<LI> optional 'env' argument to load (environment for loaded chunk) +<LI> <CODE>loadlib</CODE> may load libraries with global names (RTLD_GLOBAL) +<LI> new function <CODE>package.searchpath</CODE> +<LI> modules receive their paths when loaded +<LI> optional base in <CODE>math.log</CODE> +<LI> optional separator in <CODE>string.rep</CODE> +<LI> <CODE>file:write</CODE> returns <CODE>file</CODE> +<LI> closing a pipe returns exit status +<LI> <CODE>os.exit</CODE> may close state +<LI> new metamethods <CODE>__pairs</CODE> and <CODE>__ipairs</CODE> +<LI> new option 'isrunning' for <CODE>collectgarbage</CODE> and <CODE>lua_gc</CODE> +<LI> frontier patterns +<LI> <CODE>\0</CODE> in patterns +<LI> new option <CODE>*L</CODE> for <CODE>io.read</CODE> +<LI> options for <CODE>io.lines</CODE> +<LI> <CODE>debug.getlocal</CODE> can access function varargs +</UL> + +<H3>C API</H3> +<UL> +<LI> main thread predefined in the registry +<LI> new constants <CODE>LUA_OK</CODE> and <CODE>LUA_ERRGCMM</CODE> +<LI> new <CODE>lua_compare</CODE>, <CODE>lua_arith</CODE>, and <CODE>lua_len</CODE> +<LI> new <CODE>lua_version</CODE> and <CODE>luaL_checkversion</CODE> +<LI> <CODE>lua_pushstring</CODE> and <CODE>pushlstring</CODE> return string +<LI> new <CODE>luaL_testudata</CODE> and <CODE>luaL_setmetatable</CODE> +<LI> new <CODE>luaL_tolstring</CODE> +<LI> new <CODE>lua_copy</CODE> +<LI> new <CODE>lua_absindex</CODE> +<LI> new <CODE>lua_upvalueid</CODE> and <CODE>lua_upvaluejoin</CODE> +<LI> <CODE>nparams</CODE> and <CODE>isvararg</CODE> available in debug API +<LI> new <CODE>lua_Unsigned</CODE> +</UL> + +<H3>Implementation</H3> +<UL> +<LI> max constants per function raised to 2<SUP>26</SUP> +<LI> internal (immutable) version of ctypes +<LI> simpler implementation for string buffers +<LI> udata with finalizers are kept in a separated list for the GC +<LI> <CODE>CallInfo</CODE> stack now is a linked list +<LI> parser uses much less C-stack space (no more auto arrays) +<LI> new hash for floats +<LI> handling of non-string error messages in the standalone interpreter +<LI> generational mode for garbage collection (experimental) +<LI> NaN trick (experimental) +</UL> + +<H2><A NAME="license">License</A></H2> +<A HREF="http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php"> +<IMG SRC="osi-certified-72x60.png" ALIGN="right" BORDER="0" ALT="[osi certified]" STYLE="padding-left: 30px ;"> +</A> + +<P> +Lua is free software distributed under the terms of the +<A HREF="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html">MIT license</A> +reproduced below; +it may be used for any purpose, including commercial purposes, +at absolutely no cost without having to ask us. + +The only requirement is that if you do use Lua, +then you should give us credit by including the appropriate copyright notice somewhere in your product or its documentation. + +For details, see +<A HREF="http://www.lua.org/license.html">this</A>. + +<BLOCKQUOTE> +Copyright © 1994–2011 Lua.org, PUC-Rio. + +<P> +Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy +of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal +in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights +to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell +copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is +furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions: + +<P> +The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in +all copies or substantial portions of the Software. + <P> +THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR +IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, +FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE +AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER +LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, +OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN +THE SOFTWARE. +</BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> -<SMALL> +<SMALL CLASS="footer"> Last update: -Tue Aug 12 14:46:07 BRT 2008 +Fri Jun 24 11:30:57 BRT 2011 </SMALL> +<!-- +Last change: revised for Lua 5.2.0 (beta) +--> </BODY> </HTML> |