Beginning Lua Programming

Chapter 13. Interfacing Lua with Other Languages

Lua has a flexible mechanism for binding to program elements written in languages other than Lua. As you saw in the preceding chapter, functions in libraries written in C can be made available to your Lua programs through Lua's C application programming interface (C API or simply API). In this chapter, you delve a little deeper into this interface and learn the basics of writing routines in C that can be used in conjunction with Lua. This includes the following:

• Embedding Lua in an application

• Extending Lua with C functions

• Manipulating the virtual stack in C

• Passing values between Lua and C

• Storing Lua values in C

• Guarding against errors in your C code

• Structuring the binding layer

Although the focus in this chapter is the C programming language, most mainstream implementations of compiled languages like C++ and Pascal are compatible with the C calling convention — these languages work fine with Lua. In this chapter, references to C programs and libraries are intended to include those that are written in other compatible languages as well.

If you are unfamiliar with C, take a moment to skim through some of the C examples. It should provide ample grounds for appreciating the clean, readable syntax of Lua.

How C Programs Use Lua

Lua's C API can be used both by a host application that embeds Lua and by libraries that extend Lua. The distinction between these two ways of using Lua can be blurred somewhat because a host application often provides ...