Lua

Lua is a lightweight, high-level, multi-paradigm programming language designed primarily for embedded use in applications. It emphasizes small size, portability, and ease of embedding in host applications.

A central feature is the table, a versatile data structure that serves as arrays, dictionaries, objects, and modules and uses 1-based indexing by convention. Lua provides dynamic typing, automatic memory management with an incremental garbage collector, and a minimal, extensible syntax. The language aims to be simple to learn while offering powerful capabilities for scripting within larger programs.

Lua has first-class functions and closures and supports coroutines for cooperative multitasking. Its compact core and straightforward semantics make it approachable for beginners and suitable for embedding in diverse environments. The standard library is modest but covers common tasks such as string manipulation, table operations, math, I/O, and basic OS interfacing, with many host applications exposing additional APIs.

Programs are typically compiled to bytecode and executed by a small Lua virtual machine. The language is designed to be embedded, featuring a clean C API for extension and integration. LuaJIT provides a high-performance Just-In-Time compiler for many environments, offering substantial speedups on supported platforms.

Lua is widely used as an embedded scripting language in games, applications, and services. It is used by game engines such as LÖVE and by large-scale platforms such as Roblox. The name Lua means “moon” in Portuguese, reflecting its origins at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.

Lua was created in 1993 by Roberto Ierusalimschy, Luiz Henrique de Figueiredo, and Waldemar Celes at PUC-Rio in Brazil. Since its release, Lua has been distributed under a permissive open-source license and has a global community of users and developers.