Learning LUA?

[Zevoxa]

I don't know, but it seems like it would be a long and hard (no pun) process to learn LUA, but I cannot say that as I don't know that. I am willing to learn LUA because I feel as if it would be a great thing to learn. The only coding I really know of right now is HTML and a little bit of CSS. What I really need to know is, what is a good way of learning LUA, until I am able to afford classes that will teach me this stuff.

I mean I want to know about books you've read, great tutorials you watched or read, etc.
It would be greatly, greatly appreciated. 

EDIT: I've looked around and it appears (I'm not sure) that it looks like I'll have to learn C++ to actually understand LUA.
I need to know exactly where someone would start if they don't know nothing about C++ or LUA.

[MrPresident]

LUA is more closely related to C# than C++ I think. I don't know much C++ at all and I would consider myself pretty good at LUA.

If you want to learn to code, I would suggest starting with something simple.. like BASIC. Learn the theory behind coding. How to do functions and operations. Understand logic flow. Then once you understand how coding works, move on to LUA.

As for LUA, I would suggest downloading someone else's work and then seeing if you understand how it works. After you understand how it works, try making modifications to make it work differently. Slowly move your way on to more and more complicated things..


The WIKIS are your FRIENDS

[talmera]

thats actually quite interesting MrPresident I agree with you 100%. I attempted to learn Lua back in Gmod 10-12 times and couldn't find my feet but after learning C++ a year ago and I picked Lua up like that *snaps* a couple of months ago. I'm still not experienced enough to call myself good but it's piecing itself together.


TL;DR

I don't think it's so much the language you know before hand but how much you know about general programming knowledge and etiquette that helps significantly.

[nathan736]

learing how to use true basic first is key to skiping the  " how to do normal things in lua" chunk of learning lua largely because for/ if/ subs aka functions / variables are the same (for the most part) in true basic and its easer to get a "you did something wrong response" then in Gmod.

Ps : if your still in high school ask your  teachers if any of them can do a out of school class with you they might have learned it depending on where you live 
Pss: this reminds me i should pick up a copy of true basic again and see if i can remember how to write libraries.

[Zevoxa]

LUA is more closely related to C# than C++ I think. I don't know much C++ at all and I would consider myself pretty good at LUA.

If you want to learn to code, I would suggest starting with something simple.. like BASIC. Learn the theory behind coding. How to do functions and operations. Understand logic flow. Then once you understand how coding works, move on to LUA.

As for LUA, I would suggest downloading someone else's work and then seeing if you understand how it works. After you understand how it works, try making modifications to make it work differently. Slowly move your way on to more and more complicated things..


The WIKIS are your FRIENDS

I'm kind of confused when you said BASIC coding... Where should I start?...
I know I'm being difficult, but I kind of just need someone to point in the right exact direction of learning just the basics... 

thats actually quite interesting MrPresident I agree with you 100%. I attempted to learn Lua back in Gmod 10-12 times and couldn't find my feet but after learning C++ a year ago and I picked Lua up like that *snaps* a couple of months ago. I'm still not experienced enough to call myself good but it's piecing itself together.


TL;DR

I don't think it's so much the language you know before hand but how much you know about general programming knowledge and etiquette that helps significantly.

As for you Talmera, are you saying I should learn C++?

[MrPresident]

BASIC is a language. Look it up. It's easy to read and so will be easier to learn to start.

[JamminR]

BASIC is a language. Look it up.

B.A.S.I.C. may get you farther in a search.
Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code

I think at one time several online emulators even existed, if not 100% BASIC, they were darn close, and could do all the GOTO and FOR EACH and IF THEN logics.

It's not just a language that will help you, knowing how any language operates, the logic behind it, ifs/thens/for/each and data stored (aka tables/arrays/variables, whatever the construct calls them), will help first. Maybe google program logic or something.
I dunno. I learned DOS batch scripting in the early 80s, BASIC in the mid 80s, taught myself PHP(4) early 90s, Lua mid 2000s.
Know bits of many other scripting languages in between.

I personally have always just had the talent to look at most coding languages, and though not understand enough to sit and write something myself, can 'follow' what it's general direction is.

[bender180]

sorry to jump into someone elses thread but i have a similar question im able to make simple edits to lua but ive never really understood the other parts of it, im very good with visual basic how similar are the 2 languages? would i be able to use that knowledge to learn lua or would it be better for me to learn a more complex language?

[MrPresident]

I actually went from VBasic to LUA to be completely honest.

I have a little background in other languages.. but VB was my big one. They are quite a bit alike, you'll find.

If you knows how programming works, you'll find the switch to be quite easy.

[bender180]

good to hear i learned alot of vb 6 from school as thats the language my programing teacher knew so i did it 4 years in a row, glad to hear they are similar

[Megiddo]

I still love the programming in Lua website and refer to it from time to time: http://www.lua.org/pil/

I started out with BASIC myself, though the chain between BASIC and Lua involved many stops. Really programming is more conceptual than learning how to express the concepts in a particular language, though. You just need to learn how to break a task down into extremely simple steps, to wrap your head around what is involved in a complex problem, etc.