Luax is a similar framework as Java or Python for that matter, offering OS-independent programming platform for writing any kind of applications. Unlike Java, LuaX uses existing C/C++ open source libraries extensively (SDL, etc.) to do its work.The Lua scripting language is used as the ‘glue’ to bind these together, and to write applications. The only missing piece still is the GUI, which will be based on aedGUI (and thus, SDL). But even in today’s shape, LuaX can be succesfully used for embedded purposes, controlling serial ports, coding 2D games etc or even networking with the LuaSocket package. A Win32 setup.exe (precompiled) is available, as are the sources that compile on Linux, Mac OS X, and NetBSD platforms.
Introducing the Luax Framework
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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Why not add wxLua (wxWidget) GUI support and have something comparable to the GUIs for Java and DOT-NET?
Lua is the best embeddable language out there, IMO.
Allows many types of programming styles( functional, prototype objects, safe operator overloading, coroutine support ), its fast, stable, free and quite simple to use.
Why is everything in RTF over there, it’s a pain to read.
Essentially using lua, you could probably consider the “virtual machine” you provide for running lua a code similar to a linux distro.
Lua would be the “kernel”, but just the kernel is not enough to do anything useful. The rest of the framework provides libraries, not having downloaded it, and having problems viewing the rtf. The ideas put forth is still intriguing, especially if bundled with libraries providing network connectivity to lua.
I might be biased, but I feel having gtk+ bindings would be even better than wx as suggested above.
1. wxLua and gtk+ are such big things that porting them is not within my resources. Of course, nothing prevents you from doing the bind, and posting it.
Also other GUI toolkits (s.a. IUP) were considered, but portability to at least Win32, Linux and OS X was a criteria. aedGUI uses SDL for _all_ graphics work, therefore it will triumph in portability.
2. Things are RTF because that’s the easiest editable rich text format available on OS X.
And yes, I am willing to change if you show me a better way.
In the meantime:
a) use Ted ( http://www.nllgg.nl/Ted ) on Linux
b) I’ll consider changing website docs to pdfs (this is indeed a right thing)
3. To Øyvind, yes, your analogy to Linux distros is similar to how I see it. So far, Lua has been lacking in this regard, but LuaCheia and LuaX are filling it. There’s a lot to be done (mostly, adding modules) to extend the LuaX concept further.
Thanks for the comments,
– Asko Kauppi