| 1 | .\" $Id: lua.man,v 1.13 2011/11/16 17:16:53 lhf Exp $ |
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| 2 | .TH LUA 1 "$Date: 2011/11/16 17:16:53 $" |
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| 3 | .SH NAME |
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| 4 | lua \- Lua interpreter |
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| 5 | .SH SYNOPSIS |
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| 6 | .B lua |
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| 7 | [ |
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| 8 | .I options |
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| 9 | ] |
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| 10 | [ |
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| 11 | .I script |
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| 12 | [ |
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| 13 | .I args |
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| 14 | ] |
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| 15 | ] |
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| 16 | .SH DESCRIPTION |
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| 17 | .B lua |
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| 18 | is the standalone Lua interpreter. |
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| 19 | It loads and executes Lua programs, |
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| 20 | either in textual source form or |
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| 21 | in precompiled binary form. |
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| 22 | (Precompiled binaries are output by |
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| 23 | .BR luac , |
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| 24 | the Lua compiler.) |
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| 25 | .B lua |
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| 26 | can be used as a batch interpreter and also interactively. |
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| 27 | .LP |
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| 28 | The given |
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| 29 | .I options |
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| 30 | are handled in order and then |
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| 31 | the Lua program in file |
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| 32 | .I script |
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| 33 | is loaded and executed. |
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| 34 | The given |
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| 35 | .I args |
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| 36 | are available to |
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| 37 | .I script |
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| 38 | as strings in a global table named |
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| 39 | .BR arg . |
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| 40 | If no options or arguments are given, |
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| 41 | then |
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| 42 | .B "\-v \-i" |
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| 43 | is assumed when the standard input is a terminal; |
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| 44 | otherwise, |
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| 45 | .B "\-" |
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| 46 | is assumed. |
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| 47 | .LP |
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| 48 | In interactive mode, |
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| 49 | .B lua |
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| 50 | prompts the user, |
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| 51 | reads lines from the standard input, |
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| 52 | and executes them as they are read. |
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| 53 | If a line does not contain a complete statement, |
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| 54 | then a secondary prompt is displayed and |
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| 55 | lines are read until a complete statement is formed or |
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| 56 | a syntax error is found. |
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| 57 | If a line starts with |
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| 58 | .BR '=' , |
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| 59 | then |
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| 60 | .B lua |
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| 61 | evaluates and displays |
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| 62 | the values of the expressions in the remainder of the line. |
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| 63 | .LP |
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| 64 | At the very start, |
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| 65 | before even handling the command line, |
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| 66 | .B lua |
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| 67 | checks the contents of the environment variables |
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| 68 | .B LUA_INIT_5_2 |
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| 69 | or |
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| 70 | .BR LUA_INIT , |
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| 71 | in that order. |
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| 72 | If the contents is of the form |
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| 73 | .RI '@ filename ', |
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| 74 | then |
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| 75 | .I filename |
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| 76 | is executed. |
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| 77 | Otherwise, the string is assumed to be a Lua statement and is executed. |
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| 78 | .SH OPTIONS |
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| 79 | .TP |
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| 80 | .BI \-e " stat" |
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| 81 | execute statement |
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| 82 | .IR stat . |
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| 83 | .TP |
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| 84 | .B \-i |
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| 85 | enter interactive mode after executing |
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| 86 | .IR script . |
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| 87 | .TP |
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| 88 | .BI \-l " name" |
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| 89 | execute the equivalent of |
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| 90 | .IB name =require(' name ') |
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| 91 | before executing |
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| 92 | .IR script . |
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| 93 | .TP |
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| 94 | .B \-v |
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| 95 | show version information. |
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| 96 | .TP |
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| 97 | .B \-E |
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| 98 | ignore environment variables. |
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| 99 | .TP |
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| 100 | .B \-\- |
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| 101 | stop handling options. |
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| 102 | .TP |
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| 103 | .B \- |
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| 104 | stop handling options and execute the standard input as a file. |
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| 105 | .SH "SEE ALSO" |
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| 106 | .BR luac (1) |
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| 107 | .br |
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| 108 | The documentation at lua.org, |
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| 109 | especially section 7 of the reference manual. |
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| 110 | .SH DIAGNOSTICS |
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| 111 | Error messages should be self explanatory. |
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| 112 | .SH AUTHORS |
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| 113 | R. Ierusalimschy, |
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| 114 | L. H. de Figueiredo, |
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| 115 | W. Celes |
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| 116 | .\" EOF |
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