Lua Guide

Applies to: Lua 5.4+, LuaJIT 2.1, Neovim Plugins, Love2D, Embedded Scripting

Core Principles

1. Tables Are Everything: Arrays, maps, objects, modules, and namespaces -- master them
2. Local by Default: Always declare variables local; globals are a performance and correctness hazard
3. Explicit Error Handling: Use pcall/xpcall for recoverable errors; error() for programmer mistakes
4. Minimal Metatables: Use metatables for genuine OOP needs, not as decoration on simple data
5. Embed-Friendly Design: Lua exists to be embedded; keep the host/script boundary clean and narrow

Guardrails

Code Style

• Use local for every variable and function unless it must be global
• Naming: snake_case for variables/functions, PascalCase for class-like tables, UPPER_SNAKE_CASE for constants
• Indent with 2 spaces; one statement per line; avoid semicolons