lua5.api

_G () holds global environment, setfenv changes environments
_VERSION current interpreter version "Lua 5.1"
assert (v [, message]) error if v nil or false, otherwise returns v
bit.arshift(x, n) arithmetic right-shift
bit.band(x1 [,x2...]) bitwise 'and' of arguments
bit.bnot(x) bitwise 'not' of argument
bit.bor(x1 [,x2...]) bitwise 'or' of arguments
bit.bswap(x) swaps the bytes of the argument (32-bit little-endian/big-endian)
bit.bxor(x1 [,x2...]) bitwise 'xor' of arguments
bit.lshift(x, n) logical left-shift
bit.rol(x, n) bitwise left rotation
bit.ror(x, n) bitwise right rotation
bit.rshift(x, n) logical right-shift
bit.tohex(x [,n]) Converts its first argument to a hex string
collectgarbage ([limit]) set threshold to limit KBytes, default 0, may run GC
coroutine.create (f) creates coroutine from function f, returns coroutine
coroutine.resume (co, val1, ...) continues execution of co, returns bool status plus any values
coroutine.status (co) returns co status: "running", "suspended" or "dead"
coroutine.wrap (f) creates coroutine with body f, returns function that resumes co
coroutine.yield (val1, ...) suspend execution of calling coroutine
debug.debug () enters interactive debug mode, line with only "cont" terminates
debug.gethook () returns current hook function, hook mask, hook count
debug.getinfo (function [, what]) returns table with information about a function
debug.getlocal (level, local) returns name and value of local variable with index local at stack level
debug.getupvalue (func, up) returns name and value of upvalue with index up of function func
debug.sethook (hook, mask [, count]) sets given function as a hook, mask="[crl]"
debug.setlocal (level, local, value) sets local variable with index local at stack level with value
debug.setupvalue (func, up, value) sets upvalue with index up of function func with value
debug.traceback ([message]) returns a string with a traceback of the call stack
dofile (filename) executes as Lua chunk, default stdin, returns value
error (message [, level]) terminates protected func, never returns, level 1 (default), 2=parent
file:close () closes file
file:flush () saves any written data to file
file:lines () returns iterator function to return lines, nil ends
file:read (format1, ...) reads file according to given formats, returns read values or nil
file:seek ([whence] [, offset]) sets file pos, whence="set"|"cur"|"end", defaults "curr",0, returns file pos
file:write (value1, ...) writes strings or numbers to file
gcinfo () returns dynamic mem in use (KB), and current GC threshold (KB)
getfenv (f) gets env, f can be a function or number (stack level, default=1), 0=global env
getmetatable (object) returns metatable of given object, otherwise nil
io.close ([file]) closes file, or the default output file
io.flush () flushes the default output file
io.input ([file]) opens file in text mode, sets as default input file, or returns current default input file
io.lines ([filename]) open file in read mode, returns iterator function to return lines, nil ends
io.open (filename [, mode]) opens file in specified mode "[rawb+]", returns handle or nil
io.output ([file]) opens file in text mode, sets as default output file, or returns current default output file
io.read (format1, ...) reads file according to given formats, returns read values or nil
io.stderr file descriptor for STDERR
io.stdin file descriptor for STDIN
io.stdout file descriptor for STDOUT
io.tmpfile () returns a handle for a temporary file, opened in update mode
io.type (obj) returns "file" if obj is an open file handle, "close file" if closed, or nil if not a file handle
io.write (value1, ...) writes strings or numbers to file
ipairs (t) returns an iterator function, table t and 0
loadfile (filename) loads chunk without execution, returns chunk as function, else nil plus error
loadlib (libname, funcname) links to dynamic library libname, returns funcname as a C function
loadstring (string [, chunkname]) loads string as chunk, returns chunk as function, else nil plus error
math.abs (v) returns absolute value of v
math.acos (v) returns arc cosine value of v in radians
math.asin (v) returns arc sine value of v in radians
math.atan (v) returns arc tangent value of v in radians
math.atan2 (v1, v2) returns arc tangent value of v1/v2 in radians
math.ceil (v) returns smallest integer >= v
math.cos (rad) returns cosine value of angle rad
math.deg (rad) returns angle in degrees of radians rad
math.exp (v) returns e^v
math.floor (v) returns largest integer <= v
math.frexp (v) returns mantissa [0.5,1) and exponent values of v
math.ldexp (v1, v2) returns v1*2^v2
math.log (v) returns natural logarithm of v
math.log10 (v) returns logarithm 10 of v
math.max (v1, ...) returns maximum in a list of one or more values
math.min (v1, ...) returns minimum in a list of one or more values
math.mod (v1, v2) returns remainder of v1/v2 which is v1 - iV2 for some integer i
math.pow (v1, v2) returns v1 raised to the power of v2
math.rad (deg) returns angle in radians of degrees deg
math.random ([n [, u]]) returns random real [0,1), integer [1,n] or real [1,u] (with n=1)
math.randomseed (seed) sets seed for pseudo-random number generator
math.sin (rad) returns sine value of angle rad
math.sqrt (v) returns square root of v
math.tan (rad) returns tangent value of angle rad
next (table [, index]) returns next index,value pair, if index=nil (default), returns first index
os.clock () returns CPU time used by program in seconds
os.date ([format [, time]]) returns a string or table containing date and time, "*t" returns a table
os.difftime (t2, t1) returns number of seconds from time t1 to time t2
os.execute (command) executes command using C function system, returns status code
os.exit ([code]) terminates host program with optional code, default is success code
os.getenv (varname) returns value of environment variable varname. nil if not defined
os.remove (filename) deletes file with given name, nil if fails
os.rename (oldname, newname) renames file oldname to newname, nil if fails
os.setlocale (locale [, category]) set current locale of program, returns name of new locate or nil
os.time ([table]) returns current time (usually seconds) or time as represented by table
os.tmpname () returns a string with a filename for a temporary file (dangerous! tmpfile is better)
pairs (t) returns the next function and table t plus a nil, iterates over all key-value pairs
pcall (f, arg1, arg2, ...) protected mode call, catches errors, returns status code first (true=success)
print (e1, e2, ...) prints values to stdout using tostring
rawequal (v1, v2) non-metamethod v1==v2, returns boolean
rawget (table, index) non-metamethod get value of table[index], index != nil
rawset (table, index, value) non-metamethod set value of table[index], index != nil
require (packagename) loads package, updates _LOADED, returns boolean
setfenv (f, table) sets env, f can be a function or number (stack level, default=1), 0=global env
setmetatable (table, metatable) sets metatable, nil to remove metatable
string.byte (s [, i]) returns numerical code, nil if index out of range, default i=1
string.char (i1, i2, ...) returns a string built from 0 or more integers
string.dump (function) returns binary representation of function, used with loadstring
string.find (s, pattern [, init [, plain]]) matches pattern in s, returns start,end indices, else nil
string.format (formatstring, e1, e2, ...) returns formatted string, printf-style
string.gfind (s, pat) returns iterator function that returns next captures from pattern pat on s
string.gsub (s, pat, repl [, n]) returns copy of s with pat replaced by repl, and substitutions made
string.len (s) returns string length
string.lower (s) returns string with letters in lower case
string.rep (s, n) returns string with n copies of string s
string.sub (s, i [, j]) returns substring from index i to j of s, default j=-1 (string length)
string.upper (s) returns string with letters in upper case
table.concat (table [, sep [, i [, j]]]) returns concatenated table elements i to j separated by sep
table.foreach (table, f) executes f(index,value) over all elements of table, returns first non-nil of f
table.foreachi (table, f) executes f(index,value) in sequential order 1 to n, returns first non-nil of f
table.getn (table) returns size of table, or n field, or table.setn value, or 1 less first index with nil value
table.insert (table, [pos,] value) insert value at location pos in table, default pos=n+1
table.remove (table [, pos]) removes element at pos from table, default pos=n
table.setn (table, n) sets size of table, n field of table if it exists
table.sort (table [, comp]) sorts in-place elements 1 to n, comp(v1,v2) true if v1<v2, default <
tonumber (e [, base]) convert to number, returns number, nil if non-convertible, 2<=base<=36
tostring (e) convert to string, returns string
type (v) returns type of v as a string
unpack (list) returns all elements from list
xpcall (f, err) pcall function f with new error handler err