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Kinda ironic that the article doesn't discuss it, but Lua was originally a data loading and simulation driving language for Fortran. Lua was the serialization f

Kinda ironic that the article doesn't discuss it, but Lua was originally a data loading and simulation driving language for Fortran. Lua was the serialization format. Lua itself can load millions of records per second from disk.

Something1234 2y ago
I'm going to need to hear more about it because this is absolutely wild.
- fanf2 2y ago
  https://www.lua.org/doc/hopl.pdf https://www.lua.org/doc/hopl.pdf
  - wahern 2y ago
    Good link. But for those who won't bother reading[1], that paper doesn't support the Fortran assertion. Fortran is only mentioned twice in the HOPL conference paper, once regarding syntax familiarity (lack of semicolons), and again in the context of FFI. In neither case is Fortran mentioned in a privileged manner, but rather alongside multiple other languages to highlight non-C, non-C++-specific considerations and motivations. I know there are Fortran shops that make profitable use of Lua as both an embedded extension language and as a glue language. But Fortran users do so in the same way Lua is used with C, C++, and other languages. That merely reflects that the Lua creators had a good understanding of real-world software ecosystems, and successful in how they shaped the design and implementation to minimize impedance mismatches between Lua and other environments, across syntax, semantics, API, and various implementation details that are invariably ignored or overlooked in comparable languages. [1] For those who like reading, see https://www.lua.org/docs.html#papers https://www.lua.org/docs.html#papers
- bch 2y ago
  I second this (and see the link in response). Cliché, I’m sorry, but I’ll be looking for reasoning in TFA about 1-based versus 0-based indexing. Better for clerks, w/o programming in mind?
riidom 2y ago
What would be the source for that first sentence of yours?
plorkyeran 2y ago
Lua was not originally a serialization format. It was a data entry format which was written by hand which then generated the files fed into simulations. Load speed was very important, but they weren't generating Lua. It has been used as a serialization format (for example, World of Warcraft saves UI state by generating Lua files), but that came along much later. https://www.lua.org/history.html https://www.lua.org/history.html covers the early history.

Something1234 2y ago

I'm going to need to hear more about it because this is absolutely wild.

fanf2 2y ago
https://www.lua.org/doc/hopl.pdf https://www.lua.org/doc/hopl.pdf
- wahern 2y ago
  Good link. But for those who won't bother reading[1], that paper doesn't support the Fortran assertion. Fortran is only mentioned twice in the HOPL conference paper, once regarding syntax familiarity (lack of semicolons), and again in the context of FFI. In neither case is Fortran mentioned in a privileged manner, but rather alongside multiple other languages to highlight non-C, non-C++-specific considerations and motivations. I know there are Fortran shops that make profitable use of Lua as both an embedded extension language and as a glue language. But Fortran users do so in the same way Lua is used with C, C++, and other languages. That merely reflects that the Lua creators had a good understanding of real-world software ecosystems, and successful in how they shaped the design and implementation to minimize impedance mismatches between Lua and other environments, across syntax, semantics, API, and various implementation details that are invariably ignored or overlooked in comparable languages. [1] For those who like reading, see https://www.lua.org/docs.html#papers https://www.lua.org/docs.html#papers
bch 2y ago
I second this (and see the link in response). Cliché, I’m sorry, but I’ll be looking for reasoning in TFA about 1-based versus 0-based indexing. Better for clerks, w/o programming in mind?

riidom 2y ago

What would be the source for that first sentence of yours?

plorkyeran 2y ago

Lua was not originally a serialization format. It was a data entry format which was written by hand which then generated the files fed into simulations. Load speed was very important, but they weren't generating Lua. It has been used as a serialization format (for example, World of Warcraft saves UI state by generating Lua files), but that came along much later. https://www.lua.org/history.html https://www.lua.org/history.html covers the early history.