Re: Lua for large apps (was: Lua for GUI toolkit wrapping?)

[steve donovan <steve.j.donovan@...>]

On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 8:25 AM, Ivan Kolev <ikolev@gmail.com> wrote:
> I have enough experience with C++ to realize how much its ideology is
> oriented to catching errors at compile time (though at the price of long
> compile times), and I've learned to use it. I've learned to design code so
> that it is hard to use incorrectly and easy to use correctly - C++ gives you
> tools for that.

The Lua/C++ mixture can be tuned to fit the application; one can lay
down the foundation with C++, and use (semi) automated bindings to add
disciplined access to Lua internally.

It is a different mindset, but there are opportunities. It is not
difficult to add an interactive Lua console (even to a GUI app) and
then have a powerful mode for exploratory programming; you are then
_within_ the system.  Since Lua can be reloaded easily, the core
doesn't have to be rebuilt for each feature - in fact, with care this
can be done while keeping the process alive.

Rebuilding is an obvious overhead to the development cycle, but
getting to the area where you are working can also take time,
especially with GUI applications.

steve d.