Lua Functions

Lua Standard Libraries

The standard Lua libraries provide useful functions that are implemented directly through the C-API. Some of these functions provide essential services to the language (e.g., type and getmetatable); others provide access to “outside” services (e.g., I/O); and others could be implemented in Lua itself, but are quite useful or have critical performance requirements that deserve an implementation in C (e.g., table.sort).

All libraries are implemented through the official C API and are provided as separate C modules. Currently, Lua has the following standard libraries:

  • basic library, which includes the coroutine sub-library;

  • package library;

  • string manipulation;

  • table manipulation;

  • mathematical functions (sin, log, etc.);

  • input and output;

  • operating system facilities;

  • debug facilities.

Except for the basic and package libraries, each library provides all its functions as fields of a global table or as methods of its objects.

Extensions

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