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<span>Template structure</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Template_structure-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Module_basics" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Module_basics"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Module basics</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Module_basics-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Module basics subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Module_basics-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Overall_structure" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Overall_structure"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Overall structure</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Overall_structure-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-A_named_local_table" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#A_named_local_table"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1.1</span> <span>A named local table</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-A_named_local_table-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-An_unnamed_table_generated_on_the_fly" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#An_unnamed_table_generated_on_the_fly"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1.2</span> <span>An unnamed table generated on the fly</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-An_unnamed_table_generated_on_the_fly-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Execution" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Execution"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1.3</span> <span>Execution</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Execution-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Receiving_template_arguments" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Receiving_template_arguments"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Receiving template arguments</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Receiving_template_arguments-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Errors" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Errors"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>Errors</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Errors-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Tips_and_tricks" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Tips_and_tricks"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Tips and tricks</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Tips_and_tricks-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Tips and tricks subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Tips_and_tricks-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Arguments_tables_are_"special"." class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Arguments_tables_are_"special"."> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Arguments tables are "special".</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Arguments_tables_are_"special".-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Copy_table_contents_into_local_variables." class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Copy_table_contents_into_local_variables."> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>Copy table contents into local variables.</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Copy_table_contents_into_local_variables.-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Don't_expand_templates,_even_though_you_can." class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Don't_expand_templates,_even_though_you_can."> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3</span> <span>Don't expand templates, even though you can.</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Don't_expand_templates,_even_though_you_can.-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a 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class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-namespace">Wikipedia</span><span class="mw-page-title-separator">:</span><span class="mw-page-title-main">Guide to Scribbling</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. 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href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BF%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%8F:%D0%98%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B7%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5_Lua" title="Википедия:Использование Lua – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Википедия:Использование Lua" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-si mw-list-item"><a href="https://si.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B7%80%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%93%E0%B6%A9%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%BA%E0%B7%8F:Guide_to_Scribbling" title="විකිපීඩියා:Guide to Scribbling – Sinhala" lang="si" hreflang="si" data-title="විකිපීඩියා:Guide to Scribbling" data-language-autonym="සිංහල" data-language-local-name="Sinhala" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>සිංහල</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a 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data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238436933">.mw-parser-output .ombox{margin:4px 0;border-collapse:collapse;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;background-color:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa);box-sizing:border-box;color:var(--color-base,#202122)}.mw-parser-output .ombox.mbox-small{font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{border:2px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ombox-delete{border:2px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ombox-content{border:1px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ombox-style{border:1px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ombox-move{border:1px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ombox-protection{border:2px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.9em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ombox .mbox-invalid-type{text-align:center}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ombox{margin:4px 10%}.mw-parser-output .ombox.mbox-small{clear:right;float:right;margin:4px 0 4px 1em;width:238px}}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output table.ombox img{max-width:none!important}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .ombox-speedy{background-color:#310402}}</style><table class="plainlinks ombox ombox-notice nutshell" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Walnut.png/30px-Walnut.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="30" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Walnut.png/45px-Walnut.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Walnut.png/60px-Walnut.png 2x" data-file-width="192" data-file-height="192"/></span></span></td><td class="mbox-text"><b>This page in a nutshell:</b> Scribbling is a way to create complex templates and is more robust than <a href="/wiki/Help:Magic_words#Parser_functions" title="Help:Magic words">parser functions</a>. A scribbled template consists of only {{#invoke:Name1|Name2}}, which invokes the script at Module:Name1, where the code is written. To get started, refer to <a href="/wiki/Module:Example" title="Module:Example">Module:Example</a>. Try the module by using <a href="/wiki/Template:Basic_scribbling_example" title="Template:Basic scribbling example">Template:Basic scribbling example</a> in your sandbox.</td></tr></tbody></table> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Wikipe-tan_the_Library_of_Babel.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Wikipe-tan_the_Library_of_Babel.png/220px-Wikipe-tan_the_Library_of_Babel.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="275" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Wikipe-tan_the_Library_of_Babel.png/330px-Wikipe-tan_the_Library_of_Babel.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Wikipe-tan_the_Library_of_Babel.png 2x" data-file-width="400" data-file-height="500"/></a><figcaption>"Shh! I'm reading about how to Scribble templates."</figcaption></figure> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1044870489">@media all and (max-width:720px){body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .tocright{display:none}.mw-parser-output .tocright{width:100%!important}}@media all and (min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .tocright{float:right;clear:right;width:auto;margin:0 0 0.5em 1em}.mw-parser-output .tocright-clear-left{clear:left}.mw-parser-output .tocright-clear-both{clear:both}.mw-parser-output .tocright-clear-none{clear:none}}</style><div class="tocright"><meta property="mw:PageProp/toc"/></div> <p>This is the Guide to <b>Scribbling</b>. Scribbling, also known as Luafication, is the act of writing a template, or converting a template, so that it uses <a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Scribunto" class="extiw" title="mw:Extension:Scribunto">the Scribunto extension</a> to <a href="/wiki/MediaWiki" title="MediaWiki">MediaWiki</a>. The Scribunto extension<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>a<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> was developed by <a href="/wiki/User:Tim_Starling" title="User:Tim Starling">Tim Starling</a> and <a href="/wiki/User:VasilievVV" title="User:VasilievVV">Victor Vasiliev</a>, and allows for embedding scripting languages in MediaWiki. Currently the only supported scripting language is <a href="/wiki/Lua_(programming_language)" title="Lua (programming language)">Lua</a>. This Guide aims to give you a broad overview of Scribbling, and pointers to further information in various places. </p><p>Scribbled templates come in two parts: the template itself and one or more back-end <i>modules</i> — in the <code>Module:</code> namespace — that contain programs that are run on <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_servers" class="extiw" title="m:Wikimedia servers">the wiki servers</a> to generate the wikitext that the template expands to. The template invokes a function within a module using a new <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Parser_function" class="extiw" title="m:Help:Parser function">parser function</a> named <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{{</span><span class="nf">#invoke</span><span class="p">:}}</span></code>. </p><p>The idea of Scribbling is to improve template processing performance. Scribbling eliminates any need for <i>template parser function programming</i> using parser functions such as <span class="nowrap"><code>{{#if}}</code></span>, <span class="nowrap"><code>{{#ifeq}}</code></span>, <span class="nowrap"><code>{{#switch}}</code></span> and <span class="nowrap"><code>{{#expr}}</code></span>. All of this is instead done in the module, in a language that was actually designed to be a programming language, rather than a template system onto which was bolted various extensions over time to try to make it into a programming language.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>b<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Scribbling also eliminates any need for templates to expand to further templates and potentially hit the <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Expansion_depth" class="extiw" title="m:Help:Expansion depth">expansion depth limit</a>. A fully Scribbled template should never need to <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Transclusion" class="mw-redirect" title="Wikipedia:Transclusion">transclude</a> other templates.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>c<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Lua" data-mw-thread-id="h-Lua"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Lua"></span>Lua<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Lua"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Lua"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/Lua_(programming_language)" title="Lua (programming language)">Lua (programming language)</a>, <a href="/wiki/Help:Lua_for_beginners" title="Help:Lua for beginners">Help:Lua for beginners</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling/Programmers%27_Quick_start_Guide_to_Lua" title="Wikipedia:Guide to Scribbling/Programmers' Quick start Guide to Lua">Wikipedia:Guide to Scribbling/Programmers' Quick start Guide to Lua</a></div> <p>The language in which modules are written is Lua. Unlike the template parser function system, Lua was actually designed not only to be a proper programming language, but also to be a programming language that is suitable for what is known as <i>embedded scripting</i>. Modules in MediaWiki are an example of embedded scripts. There are several embedded scripting languages that could have been used, including <a href="/wiki/REXX" class="mw-redirect" title="REXX">REXX</a> and <a href="/wiki/Tcl" title="Tcl">tcl</a>; and indeed the original aim of Scribunto was to make available a choice of such languages. At the moment, however, only Lua is available. </p><p>The official reference manual for Lua is <a href="#CITEREFIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2006">Ierusalimschy, de Figueiredo & Celes 2006</a>. It's a reference, not a tutorial. Consult it if you want to know the syntax or semantics for something. For a tutorial, see either <a href="#CITEREFIerusalimschy2006">Ierusalimschy 2006</a> (<a href="#CITEREFIerusalimschy2003">Ierusalimschy 2003</a> is also available, although it is of course out of date.) or <a href="#CITEREFJungBrown2007">Jung & Brown 2007</a>. The downsides to these books are that quite a lot of the things that they tell you about have no bearing upon using Lua in MediaWiki modules. You don't need to know how to install Lua and how to integrate its interpreter into a program or run it standalone. The MediaWiki developers have done all of that. Similarly, a lot of the Lua library functions are, for security, not available in modules. (For example, it's not possible to do file I/O or to make operating system calls in MediaWiki modules.) So, much of what these books explain about Lua standard library functions and variables that come with the language is either irrelevant or untrue here. </p><p>The original API specification — the Lua standard library functions and variables that are supposed to be available in modules — is given at <a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Scribunto/API_specification" class="extiw" title="mw:Extension:Scribunto/API specification">MW:Extension:Scribunto/API specification</a>. However, even that is untrue. What you'll <i>actually</i> have available is documented in <a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Scribunto/Lua_reference_manual" class="extiw" title="mw:Extension:Scribunto/Lua reference manual">MW:Extension:Scribunto/Lua reference manual</a>, which is a cut down version of the 1st Edition Lua manual that has been edited down and modified by Tim Starling to bring it more into line with the reality of Scribbling. Again, though, this is a reference manual, not a tutorial. </p><p>The things in Lua that you will mostly be concerned with, writing Scribbled templates, are <i>tables</i>, <i>strings</i> <i>numbers</i>, <i>booleans</i>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kc">nil</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">if</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="kr">then</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="kr">else</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="kr">end</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">while</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="kr">do</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="kr">end</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">for</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="kr">in</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="kr">do</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="kr">end</span></code> (generated <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">for</span></code>), <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">for</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="kr">do</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="kr">end</span></code> (numerical <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">for</span></code>), <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">repeat</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="kr">until</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">function</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="nf">end</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kd">local</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">return</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">break</span></code>, expressions and the various operators (including <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="o">#</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="o">..</span></code>, the arithmetic operators <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="o">+</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="o">-</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="o">*</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="o">/</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="o">^</span></code>, and <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="o">%</span></code>), and the <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">string</span></code>, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">math</span></code>, and <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">mw</span></code> global tables (i.e. libraries). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Template_structure" data-mw-thread-id="h-Template_structure"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Template_structure"></span>Template structure<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Template_structure"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Template structure"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>This is simple. Your template comprises one expansion of <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{{</span><span class="nf">#invoke</span><span class="p">:}}</span></code> in the usual case. Here is <span class="nowrap">{{</span><a href="/wiki/Template:Harvard_citation" title="Template:Harvard citation">Harvard citation</a><span class="nowrap">}}</span>, for example: </p> <div class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><pre><span></span><span class="p"><</span><span class="nt">includeonly</span><span class="p">>{{</span><span class="nf">#invoke</span><span class="p">:</span>Footnotes<span class="p">|</span>harvard_citation <span class="p">|</span><span class="nl">bracket_left</span><span class="o">=</span> ( <span class="p">|</span><span class="nl">bracket_right </span><span class="o">=</span> ) <span class="p">}}</</span><span class="nt">includeonly</span><span class="p">><</span><span class="nt">noinclude</span><span class="p">></span> <span class="p">{{</span><span class="nt">documentation</span><span class="p">}}</span> <span class="cm"></span> <span class="p"></</span><span class="nt">noinclude</span><span class="p">></span> </pre></div> <p>If you find yourself wanting to use other templates within your template, or to use template parser functions, or indeed anything at all other than <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{{</span><span class="nf">#invoke</span><span class="p">:}}</span></code> and possibly some <a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:Variable" class="extiw" title="m:Help:Variable">variables</a> as its arguments, <i>then you are using the wrong approach</i>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Module_basics" data-mw-thread-id="h-Module_basics"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Module_basics"></span>Module basics<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Module_basics"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Module basics"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Overall_structure" data-mw-thread-id="h-Overall_structure-Module_basics"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Overall_structure-Module_basics"></span>Overall structure<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Overall_structure-Module_basics"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Overall structure"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Let's consider a hypothetical module, <a href="/w/index.php?title=Module:Population&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Module:Population (page does not exist)">Module:Population</a>. It can be structured in one of two ways: </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="A_named_local_table" data-mw-thread-id="h-A_named_local_table-Overall_structure"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-A_named_local_table-Overall_structure"></span>A named local table<span data-mw-comment-end="h-A_named_local_table-Overall_structure"></span></h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: A named local table"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr mw-highlight-lines" dir="ltr"><pre><span></span><span class="linenos" data-line="1"></span><span class="kd">local</span> <span class="n">p</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="p">{}</span> <span class="linenos" data-line="2"></span> <span class="linenos" data-line="3"></span><span class="kr">function</span> <span class="nc">p</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="nf">India</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">frame</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="linenos" data-line="4"></span> <span class="kr">return</span> <span class="s2">"1,21,01,93,422 people at (nominally) 2011-03-01 00:00:00 +0530"</span> <span class="linenos" data-line="5"></span><span class="kr">end</span> <span class="linenos" data-line="6"></span> <span class="linenos" data-line="7"></span><span class="kr">return</span> <span class="n">p</span> </pre></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="An_unnamed_table_generated_on_the_fly" data-mw-thread-id="h-An_unnamed_table_generated_on_the_fly-Overall_structure"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-An_unnamed_table_generated_on_the_fly-Overall_structure"></span>An unnamed table generated on the fly<span data-mw-comment-end="h-An_unnamed_table_generated_on_the_fly-Overall_structure"></span></h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: An unnamed table generated on the fly"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr mw-highlight-lines" dir="ltr"><pre><span></span><span class="linenos" data-line="1"></span><span class="kr">return</span> <span class="p">{</span> <span class="linenos" data-line="2"></span> <span class="n">India</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="kr">function</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">frame</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="linenos" data-line="3"></span> <span class="kr">return</span> <span class="s2">"1,21,01,93,422 people at (nominally) 2011-03-01 00:00:00 +0530"</span> <span class="linenos" data-line="4"></span> <span class="kr">end</span> <span class="linenos" data-line="5"></span><span class="p">}</span> </pre></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Execution" data-mw-thread-id="h-Execution-Overall_structure"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Execution-Overall_structure"></span>Execution<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Execution-Overall_structure"></span></h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Execution"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The execution of a module by <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{{</span><span class="nf">#invoke</span><span class="p">:}}</span></code> is actually twofold: </p> <ol><li>The module is loaded and the entire script is run. This loads up any additional modules that the module needs (using the <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="nb">require</span><span class="p">()</span></code> function), builds the (invocable) functions that the module will provide to templates, and returns a table of them.</li> <li>The function named in <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{{</span><span class="nf">#invoke</span><span class="p">:}}</span></code> is picked out of the table built in phase 1 and called, with the arguments supplied to the template <i>and</i> the arguments supplied to <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{{</span><span class="nf">#invoke</span><span class="p">:}}</span></code> (more on which <a href="#Receiving_template_arguments">later</a>).</li></ol> <p>The first Lua script does phase 1 fairly explicitly. It creates a <i>local variable</i> named <code>p</code> on line 1, initialized to a table; builds and adds a function to it (lines 3–5), by giving the function the name <code>India</code> in the table named by <code>p</code> (<code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">function</span> <span class="nc">p</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="nf">India</span></code> being the same as saying <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">p</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="s2">"India"</span><span class="p">]</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="kr">function</span></code><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>d<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>); and then returns (on line 7) the table as the last line of the script. To expand such a script with more (invocable) functions, one adds them between the <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kd">local</span></code> statement at the top and the <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">return</span></code> statement at the bottom. (Non-invocable <i>local</i> functions can be added <i>before</i> the <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kd">local</span></code> statement.) The local variable doesn't have to be named <code>p</code>. It could be named any valid Lua variable name that you like. <code>p</code> is simply conventional for this purpose, and is also the name that you can use to test the script in the debug console of the Module editor. </p><p>The second Lua script does the same thing, but more "idiomatically". Instead of creating a named variable as a table, it creates an anonymous table on the fly, in the middle of the <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">return</span></code> statement, which is the only (executed during the first phase) statement in the script. The <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">India</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="kr">function</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">frame</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="p">...</span> <span class="kr">end</span></code> on lines 2–4 creates an (also anonymous) function and inserts it into the table under the name <code>India</code>. To expand such a script with more (invocable) functions, one adds them as further fields in the table. (Non-invocable <i>local</i> functions can, again, be added <i>before</i> the <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">return</span></code> statement.) </p><p>In both cases, the template code that one writes is <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{{</span><span class="nf">#invoke</span><span class="p">:</span>Population<span class="p">|</span>India<span class="p">}}</span></code> to <i>invoke</i> the function named <code>India</code> from the module <a href="/w/index.php?title=Module:Population&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Module:Population (page does not exist)">Module:Population</a>. Also note that <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kr">function</span></code> <i>builds</i> a function, as an object, to be called. It doesn't <i>declare</i> it, as you might be used to from other programming languages, and the function isn't executed until it <i>is</i> called. </p><p>One can do more complex things than this, of course. For example: One can declare other local variables in addition to <code>p</code>, to hold tables of data (such as lists of Language or country names), that the module uses. But this is the <i>basic</i> structure of a module. You make a table full of stuff, and return it. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Receiving_template_arguments" data-mw-thread-id="h-Receiving_template_arguments-Module_basics"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Receiving_template_arguments-Module_basics"></span>Receiving template arguments<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Receiving_template_arguments-Module_basics"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Receiving template arguments"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div><p> An ordinary function in Lua can take an (effectively) arbitrary number of arguments. Witness this function from <a href="/w/index.php?title=Module:Wikitext&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Module:Wikitext (page does not exist)">Module:Wikitext</a> that can be called with anywhere between zero and three arguments: </p><div class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><pre><span></span><span class="kr">function</span> <span class="nc">z</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="nf">oxfordlist</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">args</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="n">separator</span><span class="p">,</span><span class="n">ampersand</span><span class="p">)</span> </pre></div> <p>Functions called by <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{{</span><span class="nf">#invoke</span><span class="p">:}}</span></code> are special. They expect to be passed exactly one argument, a table that is called a <i>frame</i> (and so is conventionally given the parameter name <code>frame</code> in the parameter list of the function). It's called a <i>frame</i> because, unfortunately, the developers chose to name it for their convenience. It's named after an internal structure within the code of MediaWiki itself, which it <i>sort of</i> represents.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>e<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>This frame has a (sub-)table within it, named <code>args</code>. It also has a means for accessing its <i>parent frame</i> (again, named after a thing in MediaWiki). The parent frame <i>also</i> has a (sub-)table within it, also named <code>args</code>. </p> <ul><li>The arguments in the (child, one supposes) frame — i.e. the value of the <code>frame</code> parameter to the function — are the arguments passed to <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{{</span><span class="nf">#invoke</span><span class="p">:}}</span></code> <i>within the wikitext of your template</i>. So, for example, if you were to write <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{{</span><span class="nf">#invoke</span><span class="p">:</span>Population<span class="p">|</span>India<span class="p">|</span>a<span class="p">|</span>b<span class="p">|</span><span class="nl">class</span><span class="o">=</span>"popdata"<span class="p">}}</span></code> in your template then the arguments sub-table of the child frame would be (as written in Lua form) <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{</span> <span class="s2">"a"</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s2">"b"</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">class</span><span class="o">=</span><span class="s2">"popdata"</span> <span class="p">}</span></code>.</li> <li>The arguments in the parent frame are the arguments <i>passed to your template when it was transcluded</i>. So, for example, were the user of your template to write <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{{</span><span class="nt">Population of India</span><span class="p">|</span>c<span class="p">|</span>d<span class="p">|</span><span class="nl">language</span><span class="o">=</span>Hindi<span class="p">}}</span></code> then the arguments sub-table of the parent frame would be (as written in Lua form) <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{</span> <span class="s2">"c"</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="s2">"d"</span><span class="p">,</span> <span class="n">language</span><span class="o">=</span><span class="s2">"Hindi"</span> <span class="p">}</span></code>.</li></ul> <p>A handy programmers' idiom that you can use, to make this all a bit easier, is to have local variables named (say) <code>config</code> and <code>args</code> in your function, that point to these two argument tables. See this, from <a href="/wiki/Module:WikidataCheck" title="Module:WikidataCheck">Module:WikidataCheck</a>: </p> <div class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><pre><span></span><span class="kr">function</span> <span class="nc">p</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="nf">wikidatacheck</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">frame</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="kd">local</span> <span class="n">pframe</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">frame</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="n">getParent</span><span class="p">()</span> <span class="kd">local</span> <span class="n">config</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">frame</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">args</span> <span class="c1">-- the arguments passed BY the template, in the wikitext of the template itself</span> <span class="kd">local</span> <span class="n">args</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">pframe</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">args</span> <span class="c1">-- the arguments passed TO the template, in the wikitext that transcludes the template</span> </pre></div> <p>Everything in <code>config</code> is thus an argument that <i>you</i> have specified, in your template, that you can reference with code such as <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">config</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">]</span></code> and <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">config</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="s2">"class"</span><span class="p">]</span></code>. These will be things that tell your module function its "configuration" (e.g. a CSS class name that can vary according to what template is used). </p><p>Everything in <code>args</code> is thus an argument that <i>the user of the template</i> has specified, where it was transcluded, that you can reference with code such as <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">args</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">]</span></code> and <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">args</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="s2">"language"</span><span class="p">]</span></code>. These will be the normal template arguments, as documented on your template's <code>/doc</code> page. </p><p>See <span class="nowrap">{{</span><a href="/wiki/Template:Other_places" title="Template:Other places">other places</a><span class="nowrap">}}</span> and <span class="nowrap">{{</span><a href="/wiki/Template:Other_ships" title="Template:Other ships">other ships</a><span class="nowrap">}}</span> for two templates that both do <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-wikitext mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="p">{{</span><span class="nf">#invoke</span><span class="p">:</span>Other uses<span class="p">|</span>otherX<span class="p">|</span>x<span class="p">}}</span></code> but do so with different arguments in place of the <code>x</code>, thereby obtaining different results from one single common Lua function. </p><p>For both sets of arguments, the name and value of the argument are exactly as in the wikitext, except that leading and trailing whitespace in named parameters is discounted. This has an effect on your code if you decide to support or employ transclusion/invocation argument names that aren't valid Lua variable names. You cannot use the "dot" form of table lookup in such cases. For instance: <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">args</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">author</span><span class="o">-</span><span class="n">first</span></code> is, as you can see from the syntax colourization here, not a reference to an <code>|author-first=</code> argument, but a reference to an <code>|author=</code> argument and a <code>first</code> variable with the subtraction operator in the middle. To access such an argument, use the "square bracket" form of table lookup: <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">args</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="s2">"author-first"</span><span class="p">]</span></code>. </p><p>Named arguments are indexed in the <code>args</code> table by their name strings, of course. Positional arguments (whether as the result of an explicit <code>1=</code> or otherwise) are indexed in the <code>args</code> tables by number, not by string. <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">args</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">]</span></code> is not the same as <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">args</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="s2">"1"</span><span class="p">]</span></code>, and the latter is effectively unsettable from wikitext. </p><p>Finally, note that Lua modules can differentiate between arguments that have been used in the wikitext and simply set to an empty string, and arguments that aren't in the wikitext at all. The latter don't exist in the <code>args</code> table, and any attempt to index them will evaluate to <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kc">nil</span></code>. Whereas the former <i>do</i> exist in the table and evaluate to an empty string, <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="s2">""</span></code>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Errors" data-mw-thread-id="h-Errors-Module_basics"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Errors-Module_basics"></span>Errors<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Errors-Module_basics"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Errors"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Let's get one thing out of the way right at the start: <i><span style="color: red; bgcolor: white;"><b>Script error</b></span> is a hyperlink. You can put the mouse pointer on it and click.</i> </p><p>We've become so conditioned by our (non-Scribbled) templates putting out error messages in red that we think that the Scribunto "Script error" error message is nothing but more of the same. It isn't. If you have <a href="/wiki/JavaScript" title="JavaScript">JavaScript</a> enabled in your WWW browser, it will pop up a window giving the details of the error, a call backtrace, and even hyperlinks that will take you to the location of the code where the error happened in the relevant module. </p><p>You can cause an error to happen by calling the <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="nb">error</span><span class="p">()</span></code> function. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Tips_and_tricks" data-mw-thread-id="h-Tips_and_tricks"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Tips_and_tricks"></span>Tips and tricks<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Tips_and_tricks"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Tips and tricks"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Arguments_tables_are_"special"." data-mw-thread-id="h-Arguments_tables_are_"special".-Tips_and_tricks"><span id="Arguments_tables_are_.22special.22."></span><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Arguments_tables_are_"special".-Tips_and_tricks"></span>Arguments tables are "special".<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Arguments_tables_are_"special".-Tips_and_tricks"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Arguments tables are "special"."><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>For reasons that are out of the scope of this Guide,<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>f<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the <code>args</code> sub-table of a frame is not quite like an ordinary table. It starts out empty, and it is populated with arguments as and when you execute code that looks for them.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>g<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (It's possible to make tables that work like this in a Lua program, using things called <i>metatables</i>. That, too, is outwith the scope of this Guide.) </p><p>An unfortunate side-effect of this is that some of the normal Lua table operators don't work on an <code>args</code> table. The length operator, <code>#</code>, will not work, and neither will the functions in Lua's <code>table</code> library. These only work with standard tables, and fail when presented with the special <code>args</code> table. However, the <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="nb">pairs</span><span class="p">()</span></code> and <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="nb">ipairs</span><span class="p">()</span></code> functions will both work, as code to make their use possible has been added by the developers. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Copy_table_contents_into_local_variables." data-mw-thread-id="h-Copy_table_contents_into_local_variables.-Tips_and_tricks"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Copy_table_contents_into_local_variables.-Tips_and_tricks"></span>Copy table contents into local variables.<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Copy_table_contents_into_local_variables.-Tips_and_tricks"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Copy table contents into local variables."><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A name in Lua is either an access of a local variable or a table lookup.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2011&sect;EVAL_AND_ENVIRONMENTS_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2011&sect;EVAL_AND_ENVIRONMENTS-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="nb">math.floor</span></code> is a table lookup (of the string <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="s2">"floor"</span></code>) in the (global) <code>math</code> table, for example. Table lookups are slower, at runtime, than local variable lookups. Table lookups in tables such as the <code>args</code> table with <a href="#Arguments_tables_are_"special".">its "specialness"</a> are a <i>lot</i> slower. </p><p>A function in Lua can have up to 250 local variables.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschy200817_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschy200817-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> So make liberal use of them: </p> <ul><li>If you call <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="nb">math.floor</span></code> many times, copy it into a local variable and use that instead:<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschy200817_11-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschy200817-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><div class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><pre><span></span><span class="kd">local</span> <span class="n">floor</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="nb">math.floor</span> <span class="kd">local</span> <span class="n">a</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">floor</span><span class="p">((</span><span class="mi">14</span> <span class="o">-</span> <span class="n">date</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">mon</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="o">/</span> <span class="mi">12</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="kd">local</span> <span class="n">y</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">date</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">year</span> <span class="o">+</span> <span class="mi">4800</span> <span class="o">-</span> <span class="n">a</span> <span class="kd">local</span> <span class="n">m</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">date</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">mon</span> <span class="o">+</span> <span class="mi">12</span> <span class="o">*</span> <span class="n">a</span> <span class="o">-</span> <span class="mi">3</span> <span class="kr">return</span> <span class="n">date</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">day</span> <span class="o">+</span> <span class="n">floor</span><span class="p">((</span><span class="mi">153</span> <span class="o">*</span> <span class="n">m</span> <span class="o">+</span> <span class="mi">2</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="o">/</span> <span class="mi">5</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="o">+</span> <span class="mi">365</span> <span class="o">*</span> <span class="n">y</span> <span class="o">+</span> <span class="n">floor</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">y</span> <span class="o">/</span> <span class="mi">4</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="o">-</span> <span class="n">floor</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">y</span> <span class="o">/</span> <span class="mi">100</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="o">+</span> <span class="n">floor</span><span class="p">(</span><span class="n">y</span> <span class="o">/</span> <span class="mi">400</span><span class="p">)</span> <span class="o">-</span> <span class="mi">2432046</span> </pre></div></li> <li>Don't use <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">args</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">something</span></code> over and over. Copy it into a local variable and use that:<div class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><pre><span></span><span class="kd">local</span> <span class="n">Tab</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">args</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">tab</span> </pre></div>(Even the <code>args</code> variable itself is a way to avoid looking up <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="s2">"args"</span></code> in the <code>frame</code> table over and over.)</li></ul> <p>When copying arguments into local variables there are two useful things that you can do along the way: </p> <ul><li>The <i>alternative names for the same argument</i> trick. If a template argument can go by different names — such as uppercase and lowercase forms, or different English spellings — then you can use Lua's <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="ow">or</span></code> operator to pick the highest priority name that is actually supplied:<div class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><pre><span></span><span class="kd">local</span> <span class="n">Title</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">args</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">title</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">args</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">encyclopaedia</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">args</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">encyclopedia</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">args</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">dictionary</span> <span class="kd">local</span> <span class="n">ISBN</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">args</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">isbn13</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">args</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">isbn</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">args</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">ISBN</span> </pre></div></li></ul> <p>This works for two reasons: </p> <ul><li><ul><li><code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kc">nil</span></code> is the same as <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kc">false</span></code> as far as <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="ow">or</span></code> is concerned.</li> <li>Lua's <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="ow">or</span></code> operator has what are known as "shortcut" semantics. If the left-hand operand evaluates to something that isn't <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kc">false</span></code> or <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kc">nil</span></code>, it doesn't bother even working out the value of the right-hand operand. (So whilst that first example may at first glance look like it does four lookups, in the commonest case, where <code>|title=</code> is used with the template, it in fact only actually does one.)</li></ul></li> <li>The <i>default to empty string</i> trick. Sometimes the fact that an omitted template argument is <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="kc">nil</span></code> is useful. Other times, however, it isn't, and you want the behaviour of missing arguments being empty strings. A simple <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="ow">or</span> <span class="s2">""</span></code> at the end of an expression suffices:<div class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><pre><span></span><span class="kd">local</span> <span class="n">ID</span> <span class="o">=</span> <span class="n">args</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">id</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">args</span><span class="p">.</span><span class="n">ID</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="n">args</span><span class="p">[</span><span class="mi">1</span><span class="p">]</span> <span class="ow">or</span> <span class="s2">""</span> </pre></div></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Don't_expand_templates,_even_though_you_can." data-mw-thread-id="h-Don't_expand_templates,_even_though_you_can.-Tips_and_tricks"><span id="Don.27t_expand_templates.2C_even_though_you_can."></span><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Don't_expand_templates,_even_though_you_can.-Tips_and_tricks"></span>Don't expand templates, even though you can.<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Don't_expand_templates,_even_though_you_can.-Tips_and_tricks"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Don't expand templates, even though you can."><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>If local variables are cheap and table lookups are expensive, then template expansion is way above your price bracket. </p><p>Avoid <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-lua mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr"><span class="n">frame</span><span class="p">:</span><span class="n">preprocess</span><span class="p">()</span></code> like the plague. Nested template expansion using MediaWiki's preprocessor is what we're trying to get away from, after all. Most things that you'd do with that are done more simply, more quickly, and more maintainably, with simple Lua functions. </p><p>Similarly, avoid things like using <a href="/w/index.php?title=Template:ISO_639_name_aze&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Template:ISO 639 name aze (page does not exist)">w:Template:ISO 639 name aze</a> (<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Templates_for_discussion/Log/2020_August_14#ISO_639_name_from_code_templates" title="Wikipedia:Templates for discussion/Log/2020 August 14">deleted August 2020</a></i>) to store what is effectively an entry in a database. Reading it would be a nested parser call with concomitant database queries, all to map a string onto another string. Put a simple straightforward data table in your module, like the ones in <a href="/wiki/Module:Wikt-lang" title="Module:Wikt-lang">Module:Wikt-lang</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Notes" data-mw-thread-id="h-Notes"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Notes"></span>Notes<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Notes"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-lower-alpha" style="column-width: 50em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The name "Scribunto" is Latin. "<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scribunto#Latin" class="extiw" title="wikt:scribunto">scribunto</a>" is third person plural <a href="/wiki/Future_tense" title="Future tense">future</a> <a href="/wiki/Active_voice" title="Active voice">active</a> <a href="/wiki/Imperative_mood" title="Imperative mood">imperative</a> of "<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scribunto#Latin" class="extiw" title="wikt:scribunto">scribere</a>" and means "they shall write". "<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scribble#English" class="extiw" title="wikt:scribble">scribble</a>" is of course an English word derived from that Latin word, via <a href="/wiki/Mediaeval_Latin" class="mw-redirect" title="Mediaeval Latin">Mediaeval Latin</a> "<a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scribillare#Latin" class="extiw" title="wikt:scribillare">scribillare</a>".<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMW2003a1116_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEMW2003a1116-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">For an idea of what "bolted-on" connotes when it comes to software design, see the <i><a href="/wiki/The_Flintstones" title="The Flintstones">Flintstones</a></i> cartoons where the rack of ribs from the Drive-Thru is so heavy that it causes the Flintstones' car to fall on its side.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">It may need, until such time as the whole of the specified API for Scribunto is available to modules, to transclude <i><a href="https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:magic_words" class="extiw" title="m:Help:magic words">magic words</a></i>. See <a href="#Tips_and_tricks">the tips and tricks section</a>. Magic words are not templates, however.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The inventors of the language call this <a href="/wiki/Syntactic_sugar" title="Syntactic sugar">syntactic sugar</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2011&sect;DATA_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2011&sect;DATA-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">In MediaWiki proper, there are more than two frames.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">If you want to know, go and read about how MediaWiki, in part due to the burden laid upon it by the old templates-conditionally-transcluding-templates system, does <a href="/wiki/Lazy_evaluation" title="Lazy evaluation">lazy evaluation</a> of template arguments.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Don't be surprised, therefore, if you find a call backtrace showing a call to some other module in what you thought was an ordinary template argument reference. That will be because expansion of that argument involved expanding another Scribbled template.</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="References" data-mw-thread-id="h-References"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-References"></span>References<span data-mw-comment-end="h-References"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Cross-references" data-mw-thread-id="h-Cross-references-References"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Cross-references-References"></span>Cross-references<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Cross-references-References"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Cross-references"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239543626"><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEMW2003a1116-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMW2003a1116_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFMW2003a">MW 2003a</a>, p. 1116.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2011&sect;DATA-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2011&sect;DATA_5-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2011">Ierusalimschy, de Figueiredo & Celes 2011</a>, §DATA.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2011&sect;EVAL_AND_ENVIRONMENTS-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2011&sect;EVAL_AND_ENVIRONMENTS_10-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2011">Ierusalimschy, de Figueiredo & Celes 2011</a>, §EVAL AND ENVIRONMENTS.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschy200817-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschy200817_11-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEIerusalimschy200817_11-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFIerusalimschy2008">Ierusalimschy 2008</a>, p. 17.</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Citations" data-mw-thread-id="h-Citations-References"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Citations-References"></span>Citations<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Citations-References"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: Citations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239549316">.mw-parser-output .refbegin{margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul li{list-style:none}@media(max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{padding-left:1.6em;text-indent:-1.6em}}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%}}</style><div class="refbegin" style=""> <ul><li><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFMW2003a" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">"scribble". <i>Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary: Eleventh Edition</i>. <i>Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary</i> (11th ed.). Merriam-Webster. 2003. p. 1116. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780877798095" title="Special:BookSources/9780877798095"><bdi>9780877798095</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Merriam-Webster%27s+Collegiate+Dictionary%3A+Eleventh+Edition&rft.btitle=Merriam-Webster%27s+Collegiate+Dictionary&rft.pages=1116&rft.edition=11th&rft.pub=Merriam-Webster&rft.date=2003&rft.isbn=9780877798095&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWikipedia%3AGuide+to+Scribbling" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2011" class="citation journal cs1">Ierusalimschy, Roberto; de Figueiredo, Luiz Henrique; Celes, Waldemar (12 May 2011). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=1983083">"Passing a Language through the Eye of a Needle"</a>. <i>Queue</i>. <b>9</b> (5). Association for Computing Machinery. ACM 1542-7730/11/0500.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Queue&rft.atitle=Passing+a+Language+through+the+Eye+of+a+Needle&rft.volume=9&rft.issue=5&rft.date=2011-05-12&rft.aulast=Ierusalimschy&rft.aufirst=Roberto&rft.au=de+Figueiredo%2C+Luiz+Henrique&rft.au=Celes%2C+Waldemar&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fqueue.acm.org%2Fdetail.cfm%3Fid%3D1983083&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWikipedia%3AGuide+to+Scribbling" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFIerusalimschy2008" class="citation book cs1">Ierusalimschy, Roberto (December 2008). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://lua.org./gems/sample.pdf">"Lua Performance Tips"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. In de Figueiredo, Luiz Henrique; Celes, Waldemar; Ierusalimschy, Roberto (eds.). <i>Lua Programming Gems</i>. Lua.org. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-85-903798-4-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-85-903798-4-3"><bdi>978-85-903798-4-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Lua+Performance+Tips&rft.btitle=Lua+Programming+Gems&rft.pub=Lua.org&rft.date=2008-12&rft.isbn=978-85-903798-4-3&rft.aulast=Ierusalimschy&rft.aufirst=Roberto&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Flua.org.%2Fgems%2Fsample.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWikipedia%3AGuide+to+Scribbling" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2 ext-discussiontools-init-section"><h2 id="Further_reading" data-mw-thread-id="h-Further_reading"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Further_reading"></span>Further reading<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Further_reading"></span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Lua_2" data-mw-thread-id="h-Lua_2-Further_reading"><span data-mw-comment-start="" id="h-Lua_2-Further_reading"></span>Lua<span data-mw-comment-end="h-Lua_2-Further_reading"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Lua"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239549316"><div class="refbegin refbegin-hanging-indents" style=""> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFIerusalimschyde_FigueiredoCeles2006" class="citation book cs1">Ierusalimschy, Roberto; de Figueiredo, Luiz Henrique; Celes, Waldemar (August 2006). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://lua.org./manual/5.1/"><i>Lua 5.1 Reference Manual</i></a>. Lua.org. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/85-903798-3-3" title="Special:BookSources/85-903798-3-3"><bdi>85-903798-3-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Lua+5.1+Reference+Manual&rft.pub=Lua.org&rft.date=2006-08&rft.isbn=85-903798-3-3&rft.aulast=Ierusalimschy&rft.aufirst=Roberto&rft.au=de+Figueiredo%2C+Luiz+Henrique&rft.au=Celes%2C+Waldemar&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Flua.org.%2Fmanual%2F5.1%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWikipedia%3AGuide+to+Scribbling" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFIerusalimschy2006" class="citation book cs1">Ierusalimschy, Roberto (March 2006). <i>Programming in Lua</i> (Second ed.). Lua.org. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9788590379829" title="Special:BookSources/9788590379829"><bdi>9788590379829</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Programming+in+Lua&rft.edition=Second&rft.pub=Lua.org&rft.date=2006-03&rft.isbn=9788590379829&rft.aulast=Ierusalimschy&rft.aufirst=Roberto&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWikipedia%3AGuide+to+Scribbling" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFIerusalimschy2003" class="citation book cs1">Ierusalimschy, Roberto (December 2003). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://lua.org./pil/#1ed"><i>Programming in Lua</i></a> (First ed.). Lua.org. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/85-903798-1-7" title="Special:BookSources/85-903798-1-7"><bdi>85-903798-1-7</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Programming+in+Lua&rft.edition=First&rft.pub=Lua.org&rft.date=2003-12&rft.isbn=85-903798-1-7&rft.aulast=Ierusalimschy&rft.aufirst=Roberto&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Flua.org.%2Fpil%2F%231ed&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWikipedia%3AGuide+to+Scribbling" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJungBrown2007" class="citation book cs1">Jung, Kurt; Brown, Aaron (February 2007). <i>Beginning Lua Programming</i>. 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coding">Advanced template coding</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_documentation" title="Wikipedia:Template documentation">Template documentation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_index" title="Wikipedia:Template index">Template index</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Template_limits" title="Help:Template limits">Template limits</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_sandbox_and_test_cases" title="Wikipedia:Template sandbox and test cases">Template sandbox and test cases</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_templates" title="Wikipedia:Citation templates">Citation templates</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Lua" title="Help:Lua">Lua help</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Lua" title="Wikipedia:Lua">Lua project</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Lua/Resources" title="Wikipedia:Lua/Resources">Resources</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Lua/To_do" title="Wikipedia:Lua/To do">To do</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Substitution" title="Help:Substitution">Substitution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Purge" title="Help:Purge">Purge</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Help:Job_queue" title="Help:Job queue">Job queue</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Transclusion" title="Help:Transclusion">Transclusion</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Help:Labeled_section_transclusion" title="Help:Labeled section transclusion">Labeled section</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Transclusion_costs_and_benefits" title="Wikipedia:Transclusion costs and benefits">Costs and benefits</a></li></ul></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Guide to Scribbling</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Administration#Data_structure_and_development" title="Wikipedia:Administration">Data structure</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Namespace" title="Wikipedia:Namespace">Namespaces</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:What_is_an_article%3F" title="Wikipedia:What is an article?">Main/Article</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Category</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Drafts" title="Wikipedia:Drafts">Draft</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Files" title="Help:Files">File</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Help:File_description_page" title="Help:File description page">File description page</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Help_namespace" title="Wikipedia:Help namespace">Help</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Portal" title="Wikipedia:Portal">Portal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Project_namespace" title="Wikipedia:Project namespace">Project/Wikipedia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Talk_pages" title="Help:Talk pages">Talk</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Help:Archiving_a_talk_page" title="Help:Archiving a talk page">Archiving</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Help:Archiving_(plain_and_simple)" title="Help:Archiving (plain and simple)">Simple</a></li></ul></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Template_namespace" title="Wikipedia:Template namespace">Template</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:User_pages" title="Wikipedia:User pages">User</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:User_page_design_guide" title="Wikipedia:User page design guide">User page design</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:MediaWiki_namespace" title="Help:MediaWiki namespace">MediaWiki</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Bug_reports_and_feature_requests" title="Wikipedia:Bug reports and feature requests">Bug reports and feature requests</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:TimedMediaHandler" class="extiw" title="mw:Extension:TimedMediaHandler">TimedMediaHandler extension</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Lua" title="Wikipedia:Lua">Module</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Special_page" title="Help:Special page">Special</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/HTML" title="HTML">HTML</a> and <a href="/wiki/CSS" title="CSS">CSS</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Help:Cascading_Style_Sheets" title="Help:Cascading Style Sheets">Cascading Style Sheets</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:HTML_in_wikitext" title="Help:HTML in wikitext">HTML in wikitext</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Catalogue_of_CSS_classes" title="Wikipedia:Catalogue of CSS classes">Catalogue of CSS classes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Common.js_and_common.css" title="Wikipedia:Common.js and common.css">Common.js and common.css</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Mxt/User_CSS_for_a_monospaced_coding_font" title="Template:Mxt/User CSS for a monospaced coding font">User CSS for monospaced coding font</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Microformats/classes" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Microformats/classes">Classes in microformats</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Markup_validation" title="Help:Markup validation">Markup validation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Span_tags" title="Wikipedia:Span tags">Span tags</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Useful_styles" title="Help:Useful styles">Useful styles</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Customisation" title="Wikipedia:Customisation">Customisation</a><br/>and tools</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Help:Preferences" title="Help:Preferences">Preferences</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Gadget" title="Wikipedia:Gadget">Gadgets</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Skin" title="Wikipedia:Skin">Skins</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:Citation_tools" title="Help:Citation tools">Citation tools</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Cleaning_up_vandalism/Tools" title="Wikipedia:Cleaning up vandalism/Tools">Cleaning up vandalism tools</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Customizing_watchlists" title="Wikipedia:Customizing watchlists">Customizing watchlists</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Help:Hide_Pages_in_Watchlist" title="Help:Hide Pages in Watchlist">Hide pages</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Scripts" title="Wikipedia:Scripts">IRC Scripts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:User_scripts" title="Wikipedia:User scripts">User scripts</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:User_scripts/Guide" title="Wikipedia:User scripts/Guide">Guide</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:User_scripts/List" title="Wikipedia:User scripts/List">List</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:User_scripts/Techniques" title="Wikipedia:User scripts/Techniques">Techniques</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:User_style" title="Help:User style">User style</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Tools" title="Wikipedia:Tools">Tools</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Tools/Alternative_browsing" title="Wikipedia:Tools/Alternative browsing">Alternative browsing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Tools/Browser_tools" title="Wikipedia:Tools/Browser tools">Browser tools</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Tools/Editing_tools" title="Wikipedia:Tools/Editing tools">Editing tools</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Tools/Navigation_shortcuts" title="Wikipedia:Tools/Navigation shortcuts">Navigation shortcuts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Tools/Optimum_tool_set" title="Wikipedia:Tools/Optimum tool set">Optimum tool set</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikimedia_Cloud_Services" title="Wikipedia:Wikimedia Cloud Services">Wikimedia Cloud Services</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Beta_Features" class="extiw" title="mw:Beta Features">Beta Features at MediaWiki</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="text-align: center;;width:1%">Automated editing</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Articles_for_creation/Helper_script" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Articles for creation/Helper script">AfC helper script</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:AntiVandal" title="Wikipedia:AntiVandal">AntiVandal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:AutoWikiBrowser" title="Wikipedia:AutoWikiBrowser">AutoWikiBrowser</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Bots" title="Wikipedia:Bots">Bots</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Help:Creating_a_bot" title="Help:Creating a bot">Creating</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:History_of_Wikipedia_bots" title="Wikipedia:History of Wikipedia bots">history</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:HotCat" title="Wikipedia:HotCat">HotCat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Huggle" title="Wikipedia:Huggle">Huggle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Tools/Navigation_popups" title="Wikipedia:Tools/Navigation popups">Navigation popups</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:RedWarn" title="Wikipedia:RedWarn">RedWarn</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Twinkle" title="Wikipedia:Twinkle">Twinkle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Ultraviolet" title="Wikipedia:Ultraviolet">Ultraviolet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WPCleaner" title="Wikipedia:WPCleaner">WPCleaner</a></li> <li>Inactive <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Igloo" title="Wikipedia:Igloo">igloo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:STiki" title="Wikipedia:STiki">STiki</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"><div> <ul><li>See also: <b><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_how-to" title="Category:Wikipedia how-to">Category:Wikipedia how-to</a></b></li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Category:Wikipedia_information_pages" title="Category:Wikipedia information pages">Category:Wikipedia information pages</a></b><br/>Further navigation at: <a href="/wiki/Template:Wikipedia_help_pages" title="Template:Wikipedia help pages">Help pages</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Template:Administrators%27_guide" title="Template:Administrators' guide">Administrators</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Accessibility/Navigation_menu" title="Wikipedia:WikiProject Accessibility/Navigation menu">Accessibility</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Wikipedia_accounts" title="Template:Wikipedia accounts">Accounts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Botnav" title="Template:Botnav">Bots</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Wikipedia_referencing" title="Template:Wikipedia referencing">Referencing</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Template:Citation_metadata_navbox" title="Template:Citation metadata navbox">Citation metadata</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Template:Wikipedia_templates" title="Template:Wikipedia templates">Templates</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:User_scripts/Navbox" title="Wikipedia:User scripts/Navbox">User scripts</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1&useformat=desktop" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&oldid=1257544500">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Guide_to_Scribbling&oldid=1257544500</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Category</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Module_help" title="Category:Module help">Module 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