RE: Convert string to variable name?

["iain morland" <iain@...>]

Thanks for the responses, both on- and off-list.

Sean Conner wrote:
> > So how could I get the string that's returned by MyTable[i] to be
> > "seen" by Lua as a variable name?
> 
>   Um ... _G[MyTable[i]].attribute?  So what exactly are you trying to do?

This does indeed work, but I don't quite understand why.

If I declare MyTable as a global variable in the main code chunk (executed
when the script is initialised), then in a subsequent callback, I can do
what Sean describes, as intended.

I can get the same result if I declare MyTable as a local variable in the
main code chunk.

But if, having declared MyTable as local in the main code chunk, I then
remove the _G[] from around _G[MyTable[i]].attribute=value, I get the error
message that Lua is trying to index a string value.

Yet, in the same scenario, I don't need the _G[] in my callback to do this:

print(MyTable[i])

So I'm a little confused. Why do I need _G[] even if MyTable is local - and
why *don't* I need _G[] in order to print the contents of MyTable?

Sorry for any clumsy expression of these queries. I am still learning (as if
that weren't obvious!).
TIA,
Iain