Ubuntu Manpage: luac - Lua compiler

NAME

       luac - Lua compiler

SYNOPSIS

       luac [ options ] [ filenames ]

DESCRIPTION

       luac  is the Lua compiler.  It translates programs written in the Lua programming language
       into binary files containing precompiled chunks that can be later loaded and executed.

       The main advantages of precompiling chunks are: faster  loading,  protecting  source  code
       from  accidental  user changes, and off-line syntax checking.  Precompiling does not imply
       faster execution because in Lua chunks are always compiled  into  bytecodes  before  being
       executed.   luac  simply allows those bytecodes to be saved in a file for later execution.
       Precompiled chunks are not necessarily smaller than the corresponding  source.   The  main
       goal in precompiling is faster loading.

       In  the  command  line,  you  can  mix  text  files containing Lua source and binary files
       containing precompiled chunks.  luac produces a single output file containing the combined
       bytecodes for all files given.  Executing the combined file is equivalent to executing the
       given files.  By default, the output file is named luac.out, but you can change this  with
       the -o option.

       Precompiled  chunks  are  not  portable  across  different  architectures.   Moreover, the
       internal format of precompiled chunks is likely to change when a new  version  of  Lua  is
       released.  Make sure you save the source files of all Lua programs that you precompile.

OPTIONS

-l produce a listing of the compiled bytecode for Lua's virtual machine. Listing
bytecodes is useful to learn about Lua's virtual machine. If no files are given,
then luac loads luac.out and lists its contents. Use -l -l for a full listing.

-o file
output to file, instead of the default luac.out. (You can use '-' for standard
output, but not on platforms that open standard output in text mode.) The output
file may be one of the given files because all files are loaded before the output
file is written. Be careful not to overwrite precious files.

-p load files but do not generate any output file. Used mainly for syntax checking
and for testing precompiled chunks: corrupted files will probably generate errors
when loaded. If no files are given, then luac loads luac.out and tests its
contents. No messages are displayed if the file loads without errors.

-s strip debug information before writing the output file. This saves some space in
very large chunks, but if errors occur when running a stripped chunk, then the
error messages may not contain the full information they usually do. In
particular, line numbers and names of local variables are lost.

-v show version information.

-- stop handling options.

- stop handling options and process standard input.

DIAGNOSTICS

       Error messages should be self explanatory.

AUTHORS