Re: Deep __newindex on assignment?

[Alexander Gladysh <agladysh@...>]

>> BTW, does any one know more strict/formal definition for the way Lua
>> values and variables are bound together (including assignment and
>> function argument / return value passing)?

> Very similar to Java, which is classically called pass by value for
> primitives (numbers) and pass by reference for objects (tables).  The
> pass by reference bit is a misnomer though, it's really "references
> passed by value" but that's a mouthful.

> In C terms, Lua variables behave exactly like normal ints and pointers
> do.  A variable either holds a value, like 1, 4, or 77, or a pointer
> to a table.  If two pointers point to the same table, changes made via
> one pointer are reflected when accessed via the other.

> I guess the key point is that although we generally talk of a variable
> as being a table, it's really a pointer/reference to a table.

Okay, thanks, a good one.

Your definition is based on references to other languages (and that's
really useful for getting the message).

But I'm also looking for is a more formal one.

Also, can Lua variable-to-value relationship be defined with a single
clause for all value types, both objects and primitives?

Alexander.