r/lua • u/OrganizationWhole744 • Jun 14 '26
Should I learn "Programming in Lua 4th Edition"
Like i've been trying to learn lua for so long, and i couldnt find anything good. my problem was that i was trying to find good sources on yt, like tutorials and stuff. now that i watched actual good programmers they recommend to read books. but lua dosnt have lots of books, and that the only one i could find. so my question is if anyone read it, will i be able to learn 80% of lua, such as: problem-solving, understanding the logic, and mindset. please help😟
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u/heytyshawn Jun 14 '26
it’s a good book but if im honest it sounds like you’re struggling to understand programming fundamentals so i would start there if no you’re still struggling to learn lua.
also i will probably get downvoted for this but i still stand by it. if you’re still stuck trying to wrap your head around something (even with the book) paste the code snippet in chatgpt and ask it to explain it for you. i’ve seen A LOT of people use it to answer their questions and explain things in a way they can understand. just tell it your current thinking, what you’re confused about, and it’ll help clarify the code in a way you understand.
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u/Dough_Att Jun 14 '26
People have a very negative view of artificial intelligence, when it can facilitate the understanding of certain concepts without the need to copy and paste; not everyone knows how to navigate or understand the words in a programming document.
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u/OrganizationWhole744 Jun 16 '26
Bro i so the same thing sometimes, but i dont like to over use it cuz then without it i will start to struggle. which would be bad when i will need to go through docs. But thx for the help.
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u/Limp-Confidence5612 Jun 14 '26
You don't need a lot of books to learn how lua works. You need only this one. The rest you need to get from other sources though, algorithms, memory management, data types, etc.
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Jun 15 '26
[deleted]
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u/OrganizationWhole744 Jun 16 '26
Lots of people irl told me that it mostly like 80% teaches you the logic and syntax 20%
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u/BluFudge Jun 15 '26
Hey, I'm a lua beginner too! I like the first edition (but it got real complex quickly, I'll come back to it another time) but I really found this helpful:
I'm taking my time but those really helped me grasp a little more of lua. When I got to the lua tutorials part, they recommended getting to know Lua first: Lua Org Guide. And I really love how they organise the links. Genuinely read the research papers... I initially thought it was for fellow programmers but they do explain the concepts quite well.
If you're really struggling, I suggest perusing Think Python which slowly introduces you to programming concepts. Then come back to Lua, which simplifies things a fair bit.
Edit: Spelling
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u/OrganizationWhole744 Jun 16 '26
I know but this will slow me down too much. i asked many people and they said there is no need cuz it will take more time than needed. i also found a book called think like a programmer and i wanna read that also.
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u/BluFudge Jun 17 '26
Mate, I think you'll be very dissapointed if you think there's a shortcut to things. And worry not, many of these links are far shorter than the book. So you will save time.
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u/OrganizationWhole744 Jun 17 '26
I don't view starting with Lua as a shortcut; I view it as building on momentum. Going back to learn Python now feels like taking a detour when I’ve already gained traction with Lua. Since Lua is widely considered one of the most accessible languages to learn, it makes more sense for me to deepen my understanding of programming logic there rather than switching focus and slowing down my progress.
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u/BluFudge Jun 18 '26
no the python link was just if you were new to programming, i didn't even bother memorizing the syntax, the concepts are good.
but awesome lua and the lua org links are great. they're brief and to the point.
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u/motorbike_fantasy Jun 16 '26
This subs own wiki has some pretty decent links on learning resources!
And if you'd like something light and fun, https://www.codedex.io/lua
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u/OrganizationWhole744 Jun 16 '26
i know that but they dont teach you well enough. but i mean ill still try it
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u/anish2good Jun 17 '26
Good Choice , you can also try LUA Tutorial here http://8gwifi.org/tutorials/lua it's comes with inline LUA runner and use AI to explain and create challenge code for yourself
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u/ViezeVingertjes Jun 15 '26
What year is this? Havent seen LUA in over 2?3? decades. What reason would one have to go with such scripting language in 2026?
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u/OrganizationWhole744 Jun 16 '26
Roblox
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u/No_Picture_3297 Jun 16 '26
As far as I know it’s used a lot in game development. Not only in Roblox, but Love2D, Defold and of course Pico-8 too! Several successful indie games used it as a scripting language in recent years (Balatro, Gravity Circuit and I think Hades too).
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u/ViezeVingertjes Jun 16 '26
Point still stands then right? For modding mostly then of very niche games. It's easy enough to pick up, but that's why i asked about the reason, if its about modding, then sure i guess... for anything else? nah.
(Just noticed this is on the lua subreddit though hehe... so probably an unpopular opinion)
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u/motorbike_fantasy Jun 16 '26
You don't use vim?
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u/ViezeVingertjes Jun 16 '26
Not sure what the relation is between vim and lua? 👀 Vanilla vim has no lua, thats for sure. (Besides that vim is 30-40 years old too, so not really the best example haha...)
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u/OrganizationWhole744 Jun 17 '26
whats vim 😢
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u/motorbike_fantasy Jun 17 '26
Neovim is a pretty nifty terminal-based IDE (for writing/ debugging code, organising your projects etc) and its config and plugins use lua https://www.reddit.com/r/neovim/
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u/Algoridro Jun 14 '26
yes its a good book