base on luax is a Lua interpreter and REPL based on Lua 5.4, augmented with some useful packages. It is also a "compiler" that produces standalone executables from Lua scripts. <img src="doc/luax-banner.svg" style="width:100.0%" /> # Lua eXtended `luax` is a Lua interpreter and REPL based on Lua 5.4, augmented with some useful packages. `luax` can also produce executable scripts from Lua scripts. `luax` runs on several platforms with no dependency: - Linux (x86_64, aarch64) - MacOS (x86_64, aarch64) - Windows (x86_64) `luax` can compile scripts from and to any of these platforms. It can produce scripts that can run everywhere Lua or LuaX is installed as well as standalone executables containing the LuaX runtime and the Lua scripts. The target platform can be explicitly specified to cross-compile[^1] scripts for a supported platform. ## Getting in touch - [cdelord.fr/luax](https://cdelord.fr/luax) - [github.com/CDSoft/luax](https://github.com/CDSoft/luax) If you like LuaX and are willing to support its development, please consider donating via [Github](https://github.com/sponsors/CDSoft?o=esc) or [Liberapay](https://liberapay.com/LuaX/donate). ## Requirements - [Ninja](https://ninja-build.org): to compile LuaX using the LuaX Ninja file - a decent modern and programmer friendly OS… The bootstrap script will try to install `ninja` on some known Linux distributions (Debian, Fedora and Arch Linux) or on MacOS. ## Compilation ### Quick compilation The script `bootstrap.sh` installs `ninja`, `zig` and compiles LuaX. Once done, LuaX can be installed with `ninja install`. `git` must already be installed, which is likely to be the case if LuaX has been cloned with `git`… ``` sh $ git clone https://github.com/CDSoft/luax $ cd luax $ ./bootstrap.sh $ ninja install ``` Contributions on non supported platforms are welcome. ### Compilation options | Option | Description | |:---|:---| | `bang -- fast` | Optimize for speed | | `bang -- small` | Optimize for size | | `bang -- debug` | Debug symbols kept, not optimized | | `bang -- san` | Compile with ASan and UBSan (implies clang) and enable `LUA_USE_APICHECK` | | `bang -- lax` | Disable strict compilation options | | `bang -- strip` | Remove debug information from precompiled bytecode | | `bang -- nolto` | Disable LTO optimizations | | `bang -- ssl` | Add SSL support via LuaSec and OpenSSL | | `bang -- zig` | Compile LuaX with Zig | | `bang -- gcc` | Compile LuaX with gcc | | `bang -- clang` | Compile LuaX with clang | `bang` must be run before `ninja` to change the compilation options. `lua tools/bang.luax` can be used instead of [bang](https://cdelord.fr/bang) if it is not installed. The default compilation options are `fast` and `zig`. Zig is downloaded by the ninja file or `bootstrap.sh`. gcc and clang must be already installed. These options can also be given to the bootstrap script. E.g.: `./bootstrap.sh small strip`. ### Optional features ### LuaSec and OpenSSL LuaSec and OpenSSL can be statically linked to LuaX with the `ssl` option. Otherwise you will have to install LuaSec or LuaSocket apart from Luax (e.g. with LuaRocks). In this case, the submodules shall also be downloaded: ``` sh $ git clone https://github.com/CDSoft/luax --recurse-submodules $ cd luax $ ./bootstrap.sh ssl $ ninja install ``` ### Compilation in debug mode LuaX can be compiled in debug mode (less optimization, debug symbols kept in the binaries). With the `san` option, the tests are executed with [ASan](https://clang.llvm.org/docs/AddressSanitizer.html) and [UBSan](https://clang.llvm.org/docs/UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer.html). They run slower but this helps finding tricky bugs. ``` sh $ git clone https://github.com/CDSoft/luax $ cd luax $ tools/bang.lua -- debug san # generate build.ninja in debug mode with sanitizers $ ninja # compile LuaX $ ninja test # run tests on the host ``` ## Cross-compilation `luax` can compile scripts and link them to precompiled libraries for all supported targets. E.g.: to produce an executable containing the LuaX runtime for the current host and `hello.lua`: ``` sh $ luax compile -t native -o hello hello.lua ``` E.g.: to produce an executable containing the LuaX runtime for `linux-x86_64-musl` and `hello.lua`: ``` sh $ luax compile -t linux-x86_64-musl -o hello hello.lua ``` E.g.: to produce an executable with the compiled Lua bytecode with no debug information: ``` sh $ luax compile -s -t linux-x86_64-musl -o hello hello.lua ``` `luax compile` can compile Lua scripts to Lua bytecode. If scripts are large they will start quickly but will run as fast as the original Lua scripts. ## Precompiled LuaX binaries In case precompiled binaries are needed (GNU/Linux, MacOS, Windows), some can be found at [cdelord.fr/pub](http://cdelord.fr/pub). These archives contain LuaX as well as some other softwares more or less related to LuaX. **Warning**: There are Linux binaries linked with musl and glibc. The musl binaries are platform independent but can not load shared libraries. The glibc binaries can load shared libraries but may depend on some specific glibc versions on the host. ## Installation ``` sh $ ninja install # install luax to ~/.local/bin and ~/.local/lib $ PREFIX=/usr ninja install # install luax to /usr/bin and /usr/lib ``` `luax` is a single autonomous executable. It does not need to be installed and can be copied anywhere you want. ### LuaX artifacts `ninja install` installs: - `$PREFIX/bin/luax`: LuaX binary - `$PREFIX/bin/luax.lua`: a pure Lua REPL reimplementing some LuaX libraries, usable in any Lua 5.4 interpreter (e.g.: lua, pandoc lua, …) - `$PREFIX/bin/luax-pandoc.lua`: LuaX run in a Pandoc Lua interpreter - `$PREFIX/lib/libluax.so`: Linux LuaX shared libraries - `$PREFIX/lib/libluax.dylib`: MacOS LuaX shared libraries - `$PREFIX/lib/libluax.dll`: Windows LuaX shared libraries - `$PREFIX/lib/luax.lua`: a pure Lua reimplementation of some LuaX libraries, usable in any Lua 5.4 interpreter. - `$PREFIX/lib/luax.lar`: a compressed archive containing the precompiled LuaX runtimes for all supported platforms ## Usage `luax` is very similar to `lua` and adds more options to compile scripts: usage: luax [cmd] [options] Commands: "help" (or "-h") Show this help "version" (or "-v") Show LuaX version "run" (or none) Run scripts "compile" (or "c") Compile scripts "env" Set LuaX environment variables "run" options: -e stat execute string 'stat' -i enter interactive mode after executing 'script' -l name require library 'name' into global 'name' -l g=name require library 'name' into global 'g' -l _=name require library 'name' (no global variable) -v show version information -- stop handling options - stop handling options and execute stdin script [args] script to execute "compile" options: -t target name of the targetted platform -t list list available targets -o file name the executable file to create -b compile to Lua bytecode -s emit bytecode without debug information -k key script encryption key -q quiet compilation (error messages only) scripts scripts to compile Environment variables: LUA_INIT_5_4, LUA_INIT code executed before handling command line options and scripts (not in compilation mode). When LUA_INIT_5_4 is defined, LUA_INIT is ignored. PATH PATH shall contain the bin directory where LuaX is installed LUA_PATH LUA_PATH shall point to the lib directory where the Lua implementation of LuaX lbraries are installed LUA_CPATH LUA_CPATH shall point to the lib directory where LuaX shared libraries are installed PATH, LUA_PATH and LUA_CPATH can be set in .bashrc or .zshrc with "luax env". E.g.: eval $(luax env) "luax env" can also generate shell variables from a script. E.g.: eval $(luax env script.lua) When compiling scripts (options `-t` and `-o`), the scripts shall contain tags (e.g. in comments) showing how the script is used by LuaX: - `--@MAIN`: main script (must be unique) - `--@LOAD`: library that is `require`’d before the main script is run and stored in a global variable - `--@LOAD=<global variable name>`: as `--@LOAD` but the module is stored in a global variable with the given name - `--@LIB`: library that must be explicitly `require`’d by the main script - `--@LIB=<new module name>`: library that is `require`’d with `<new module name>` instead of the source filename. Scripts without tags are classified using a simplistic heuristic: - if the last non empty line starts with `return` then it is a library (as if it contained a `@LIB` tag) - otherwise it is the main script (as if it contained the `@MAIN` tag). This heuristic should work for most of the Lua scripts but explicit tags are recommended. LuaX can also embed files that are not Lua scripts. These files are embedded as Lua modules that return the file content as a string. In this case, the module name is the file name. **Note for Windows users**: since Windows does not support shebangs, a script `script` shall be explicitly launched with `luax` (e.g.: `luax script`). If `script` is not found, it is searched in the installation directory of `luax` or in `$PATH`. ### Examples ``` bash # Compilation (standalone executable script for LuaX) $ luax compile -o executable main.lua lib1.lua lib2.lua $ ./executable # equivalent to luax main.lua # Compilation for Lua $ luax compile -o executable -t lua main.lua lib1.lua lib2.lua $ ./executable # equivalent to lua main.lua # Compilation for Pandoc Lua $ luax compile -o executable -t pandoc main.lua lib1.lua lib2.lua $ ./executable # equivalent to pandoc lua main.lua # Available targets $ luax compile -t list Target Interpeter / LuaX archive --------------------- ------------------------- luax /path/to/luax lua /path/to/lua pandoc /path/to/pandoc native /path/to/luax.lar linux-x86_64 /path/to/luax.lar linux-x86_64-musl /path/to/luax.lar linux-aarch64 /path/to/luax.lar linux-aarch64-musl /path/to/luax.lar macos-x86_64 /path/to/luax.lar macos-aarch64 /path/to/luax.lar windows-x86_64 /path/to/luax.lar ``` ## Built-in modules The `luax` runtime comes with a few builtin modules. Some modules are heavily inspired by [BonaLuna](http://cdelord.fr/bl) and [lapp](http://cdelord.fr/lapp). - [LuaX interactive usage](doc/repl.md): improved Lua REPL - [package](doc/package.md): modified Lua package `package` - [debug](doc/debug.md): modified Lua package `debug` - [import](doc/import.md): import Lua scripts to user table instead of `_G` - [F](doc/F.md): functional programming inspired functions - [fs](doc/fs.md): file system management - [sh](doc/sh.md): shell command execution - [mathx](doc/mathx.md): complete math library for Lua - [imath](doc/imath.md): arbitrary precision integer and rational arithmetic library - [qmath](doc/qmath.md): rational number library - [complex](doc/complex.md): math library for complex numbers based on C99 - [ps](doc/ps.md): Process management module - [sys](doc/sys.md): System module - [term](doc/term.md): Terminal manipulation module - [crypt](doc/crypt.md): cryptography module - [lz4](doc/lz4.md): Extremely Fast Compression algorithm - [lzip](doc/lzip.md): A compression library for the lzip format - [lpeg](doc/lpeg.md): Parsing Expression Grammars For Lua - [luasocket](doc/luasocket.md): Network support for the Lua language - [luasec](doc/luasec.md): add secure connections to luasocket - [argparse](doc/argparse.md): Feature-rich command line parser for Lua - [serpent](doc/serpent.md): Lua serializer and pretty printer - [cbor](doc/cbor.md): pure Lua implementation of the CBOR - [lar](doc/lar.md): Simple archive format for Lua values - [linenoise](doc/linenoise.md): A small, portable GNU readline replacement with UTF-8 support - [json](doc/json.md): JSON Module for Lua ## Shared libraries LuaX is also available as a shared library. This shared library is a Lua module that can be loaded with `require`. It provides the same modules than the LuaX executable and can be used by a regular Lua interpreter (e.g.: lua, pandoc, …). E.g.: $ lua -l libluax Lua 5.4.7 Copyright (C) 1994-2024 Lua.org, PUC-Rio > F = require "F" > F.range(100):sum() 5050 > F.show({x=1, y=2}) {x=1, y=2} > F.show({x=1, y=2}, {indent=4}) { x = 1, y = 2, } ## Pure Lua modules LuaX modules also provide pure Lua implementations (no LuaX dependency). The script `lib/luax.lua` can be reused in pure Lua programs: - [luax.lua](doc/luax.lua.md): LuaX modules reimplemented in pure Lua (except LuaSocket and lpeg) ## License luax is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. luax is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with luax. If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. For further information about luax you can visit http://cdelord.fr/luax `luax` uses other third party softwares: - **[Zig](https://ziglang.org/)**: General-purpose programming language and toolchain for maintaining robust, optimal, and reusable software. ([MIT license](https://github.com/ziglang/zig/blob/master/LICENSE)) - **[Lua 5.4](http://www.lua.org)**: Copyright (C) 1994-2023 Lua.org, PUC-Rio ([MIT license](http://www.lua.org/license.html)) - **[Lpeg](http://www.inf.puc-rio.br/~roberto/lpeg/)**: Parsing Expression Grammars For Lua ([MIT license](http://www.lua.org/license.html)) - **[luasocket](https://github.com/diegonehab/luasocket)**: Network support for the Lua language ([LuaSocket 3.0 license](https://github.com/diegonehab/luasocket/blob/master/LICENSE)) - **[luasec](https://github.com/lunarmodules/luasec)**: integrates with LuaSocket to make it easy to add secure connections to any Lua applications or scripts. ([LuaSec license](https://github.com/lunarmodules/luasec/blob/master/LICENSE)) - **[OpenSSL](https://www.openssl.org/)**: robust, commercial-grade, full-featured toolkit for general-purpose cryptography and secure communication ([Apache License 2.0](https://github.com/openssl/openssl/blob/master/LICENSE.txt)) - **[serpent](https://github.com/pkulchenko/serpent)**: Lua serializer and pretty printer. ([MIT license](https://github.com/pkulchenko/serpent/blob/master/LICENSE)) - **[LZ4](https://github.com/lz4/lz4)**: Extremely Fast Compression algorithm ([License](https://github.com/lz4/lz4/blob/dev/lib/LICENSE)) - **[lzip](https://www.nongnu.org/lzip/)**: A compression library for the lzip format ([License](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html)) - **[Argparse](https://github.com/mpeterv/argparse)**: a feature-rich command line parser for Lua ([MIT license](https://github.com/mpeterv/argparse/blob/master/LICENSE)) - **[Linenoise](https://github.com/yhirose/linenoise/tree/utf8-support)**: A minimal, zero-config, BSD licensed, readline replacement ([BSD license](https://github.com/antirez/linenoise/blob/master/LICENSE)) - **[dkjson.lua](http://dkolf.de/dkjson-lua/)**: JSON Module for Lua ([MIT license](http://www.lua.org/license.html)) - **[CBOR](https://www.zash.se/lua-cbor.html)**: pure Lua implementation of the CBOR ([License](https://code.zash.se/lua-cbor/file/tip/COPYING)) [^1]: `luax` uses `zig` to link the LuaX runtime with the Lua scripts. The Lua scripts are actually compiled to Lua bytecode. `luax` produces executables that do not require LuaX to be installed. ", Assign "at most 3 tags" to the expected json: {"id":"10433","tags":[]} "only from the tags list I provide: [{"id":77,"name":"3d"},{"id":89,"name":"agent"},{"id":17,"name":"ai"},{"id":54,"name":"algorithm"},{"id":24,"name":"api"},{"id":44,"name":"authentication"},{"id":3,"name":"aws"},{"id":27,"name":"backend"},{"id":60,"name":"benchmark"},{"id":72,"name":"best-practices"},{"id":39,"name":"bitcoin"},{"id":37,"name":"blockchain"},{"id":1,"name":"blog"},{"id":45,"name":"bundler"},{"id":58,"name":"cache"},{"id":21,"name":"chat"},{"id":49,"name":"cicd"},{"id":4,"name":"cli"},{"id":64,"name":"cloud-native"},{"id":48,"name":"cms"},{"id":61,"name":"compiler"},{"id":68,"name":"containerization"},{"id":92,"name":"crm"},{"id":34,"name":"data"},{"id":47,"name":"database"},{"id":8,"name":"declarative-gui "},{"id":9,"name":"deploy-tool"},{"id":53,"name":"desktop-app"},{"id":6,"name":"dev-exp-lib"},{"id":59,"name":"dev-tool"},{"id":13,"name":"ecommerce"},{"id":26,"name":"editor"},{"id":66,"name":"emulator"},{"id":62,"name":"filesystem"},{"id":80,"name":"finance"},{"id":15,"name":"firmware"},{"id":73,"name":"for-fun"},{"id":2,"name":"framework"},{"id":11,"name":"frontend"},{"id":22,"name":"game"},{"id":81,"name":"game-engine "},{"id":23,"name":"graphql"},{"id":84,"name":"gui"},{"id":91,"name":"http"},{"id":5,"name":"http-client"},{"id":51,"name":"iac"},{"id":30,"name":"ide"},{"id":78,"name":"iot"},{"id":40,"name":"json"},{"id":83,"name":"julian"},{"id":38,"name":"k8s"},{"id":31,"name":"language"},{"id":10,"name":"learning-resource"},{"id":33,"name":"lib"},{"id":41,"name":"linter"},{"id":28,"name":"lms"},{"id":16,"name":"logging"},{"id":76,"name":"low-code"},{"id":90,"name":"message-queue"},{"id":42,"name":"mobile-app"},{"id":18,"name":"monitoring"},{"id":36,"name":"networking"},{"id":7,"name":"node-version"},{"id":55,"name":"nosql"},{"id":57,"name":"observability"},{"id":46,"name":"orm"},{"id":52,"name":"os"},{"id":14,"name":"parser"},{"id":74,"name":"react"},{"id":82,"name":"real-time"},{"id":56,"name":"robot"},{"id":65,"name":"runtime"},{"id":32,"name":"sdk"},{"id":71,"name":"search"},{"id":63,"name":"secrets"},{"id":25,"name":"security"},{"id":85,"name":"server"},{"id":86,"name":"serverless"},{"id":70,"name":"storage"},{"id":75,"name":"system-design"},{"id":79,"name":"terminal"},{"id":29,"name":"testing"},{"id":12,"name":"ui"},{"id":50,"name":"ux"},{"id":88,"name":"video"},{"id":20,"name":"web-app"},{"id":35,"name":"web-server"},{"id":43,"name":"webassembly"},{"id":69,"name":"workflow"},{"id":87,"name":"yaml"}]" returns me the "expected json"