RE: Very small feature request

["Joshua Jensen" <jjensen@...>]

> Is it too much to ask that you add 2 lines of code to when 
> you include the Lua interface?
> 
> extern "C" {
> #include "lua"
> }

Is it too much to include the extern "C" code in lua.h?  Many, many
other C libraries do this exact thing to make it easier for the end
user.  How many times, on this mailing list alone, do we hear about
individuals trying to interface Lua with C++ and they're getting linker
errors?  One simple little extern "C" change in lua.h would make all of
that go away.

> Find me a piece 
> of Microsoft software that is that easy to use, or that 
> matter is free (in all its meanings). The fact that Lua is 
> clean and free of dependencies is a feature.
> 
> I would venture that most of the posters on this list are 
> using Lua because of their experiences with Microsoft 
> software (or other large redundant timewasters) and realise 
> that focussed, open source projects are the way to true productivity.

Oh, gadfreys.  Can we please keep Microsoft out of this group?  I get so
tired of hearing drivel like this over and over.

For future reference, Microsoft has currently shipped more than one
product that uses Lua.  But it has also shipped games using other
scripting languages.  There really is one reason why one language or the
other wins out as a scripting language for a product, and that's because
there is somebody who champions the cause... and sometimes, even that
isn't enough.  There is an individual on this list who championed Lua
but lost out to another language.  The fact that Lua (or anything else)
is "open source" has nothing to do with it.

I believe most of the posters and lurkers on this list use Lua, because
they believe it is pretty well written.  I believe people choose Lua
because of its small footprint.  I also believe people choose Lua
because it is typeless... and maybe because they can do better-than-XML
data description... or that the VM is really pretty fast considering its
typeless nature.  I highly doubt the majority of posters choose Lua
because of their experiences with Microsoft software.

> [shudders remembering the horror of learning DirectX and MFC]

Heh.  Give me WTL anyday... oh, wait, that's a Microsoft product.  ;)

Josh