Tribblix: manual page: luac.1

LUAC(1) User Commands LUAC(1)

NAME

luac - Lua compiler

SYNOPSIS

luac [ options ] [ filenames ]

DESCRIPTION

luac is the Lua compiler. It translates programs written in the Lua
programming language into binary files containing precompiled chunks
that can be later loaded and executed.

The main advantages of precompiling chunks are: faster loading,
protecting source code from accidental user changes, and off-line
syntax checking. Precompiling does not imply faster execution
because in Lua chunks are always compiled into bytecodes before being
executed. luac simply allows those bytecodes to be saved in a file
for later execution. Precompiled chunks are not necessarily smaller
than the corresponding source. The main goal in precompiling is
faster loading.

In the command line, you can mix text files containing Lua source and
binary files containing precompiled chunks. luac produces a single
output file containing the combined bytecodes for all files given.
Executing the combined file is equivalent to executing the given
files. By default, the output file is named luac.out, but you can
change this with the -o option.

Precompiled chunks are not portable across different architectures.
Moreover, the internal format of precompiled chunks is likely to
change when a new version of Lua is released. Make sure you save the
source files of all Lua programs that you precompile.

OPTIONS

-l produce a listing of the compiled bytecode for Lua's virtual
machine. Listing bytecodes is useful to learn about Lua's
virtual machine. If no files are given, then luac loads
luac.out and lists its contents. Use -l -l for a full
listing.

-o file
output to file, instead of the default luac.out. (You can use
'-' for standard output, but not on platforms that open
standard output in text mode.) The output file may be one of
the given files because all files are loaded before the output
file is written. Be careful not to overwrite precious files.

-p load files but do not generate any output file. Used mainly
for syntax checking and for testing precompiled chunks:
corrupted files will probably generate errors when loaded. If
no files are given, then luac loads luac.out and tests its
contents. No messages are displayed if the file loads without
errors.

-s strip debug information before writing the output file. This
saves some space in very large chunks, but if errors occur
when running a stripped chunk, then the error messages may not
contain the full information they usually do. In particular,
line numbers and names of local variables are lost.

-v show version information.

-- stop handling options.

- stop handling options and process standard input.

DIAGNOSTICS

Error messages should be self explanatory.

AUTHORS