Hey there! This is a Go wrapper for LuaJIT that makes it easy to embed Lua in your Go applications. We've focused on making it both safe and fast, while keeping the API clean and intuitive.
## What's This For?
This wrapper lets you run Lua code from Go and easily pass data back and forth between the two languages. You might want this if you're:
- Adding scripting support to your application
- Building a game engine
- Creating a configuration system
- Writing an embedded rules engine
- Building test automation tools
## Get Started
First, grab the package:
```bash
go get git.sharkk.net/Sky/LuaJIT-to-Go
```
You'll need LuaJIT's development files, but don't worry - we include libraries for Windows and Linux in the vendor directory.
Here's the simplest thing you can do:
```go
L := luajit.NewSafe()
defer L.Close()
defer L.Cleanup()
err := L.DoString(`print("Hey from Lua!")`)
```
## Stack Safety: Choose Your Adventure
One of the key decisions you'll make is whether to use stack-safe mode. Here's what that means:
### Stack-Safe Mode (NewSafe())
```go
L := luajit.NewSafe()
```
Think of this as driving with guardrails. It's perfect when:
- You're new to Lua or embedding scripting languages
- You're writing a server or long-running application
- You want to handle untrusted Lua code
- You'd rather have slightly slower code than mysterious crashes
The safe mode will:
- Prevent stack overflows
- Check types more thoroughly
- Clean up after messy Lua code
- Give you better error messages
### Non-Stack-Safe Mode (New())
```go
L := luajit.New()
```
This is like taking off the training wheels. Use it when:
- You know exactly how your Lua code behaves
- You've profiled your application and need more speed
- You're doing lots of rapid, simple Lua calls
- You're writing performance-critical code
The unsafe mode:
- Skips most safety checks
- Runs noticeably faster
- Gives you direct control over the stack
- Can crash spectacularly if you make a mistake
Most applications should start with stack-safe mode and only switch to unsafe mode if profiling shows it's necessary.
## Registering Go Functions
Want to call Go code from Lua? Easy:
```go
// This function adds two numbers and returns the result
adder := func(s *luajit.State) int {
sum := s.ToNumber(1) + s.ToNumber(2)
s.PushNumber(sum)
return 1 // we're returning one value
}
L.RegisterGoFunction("add", adder)
```
Now in Lua:
```lua
result = add(40, 2) -- result = 42
```
## Working with Tables
Lua tables are pretty powerful - they're like a mix of Go's maps and slices. We make it easy to work with them:
```go
// Go → Lua
stuff := map[string]interface{}{
"name": "Arthur Dent",
"age": 30,
"items": []float64{1, 2, 3},
}
L.PushTable(stuff)
// Lua → Go
L.GetGlobal("some_table")
result, err := L.ToTable(-1)
```
## Error Handling
We try to give you useful errors instead of mysterious panics:
