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HISTORY for Lua 5.1* Changes from version 5.0 to 5.1-------------------------------Language:+ new module system.+ new semantics for control variables of fors.+ new semantics for setn/getn.+ new syntax/semantics for varargs.+ new long strings and comments.+ new `mod' operator (`%')+ new length operator #t+ metatables for all typesAPI:+ new functions: lua_createtable, lua_get(set)field, lua_push(to)integer.+ user supplies memory allocator (lua_open becomes lua_newstate).+ luaopen_* functions must be called through Lua.Implementation:+ new configuration scheme via luaconf.h.+ incremental garbage collection.+ better handling of end-of-line in the lexer.+ fully reentrant parser (new Lua function `load')+ better support for 64-bit machines.+ native loadlib support for Mac OS X.+ standard distribution in only one library (lualib.a merged into lua.a)* Changes from version 4.0 to 5.0-------------------------------Language:+ lexical scoping.+ Lua coroutines.+ standard libraries now packaged in tables.+ tags replaced by metatables and tag methods replaced by metamethods,stored in metatables.+ proper tail calls.+ each function can have its own global table, which can be shared.+ new __newindex metamethod, called when we insert a new key into a table.+ new block comments: --[[ ... ]].+ new generic for.+ new weak tables.+ new boolean type.+ new syntax "local function".+ (f()) returns the first value returned by f.+ {f()} fills a table with all values returned by f.+ \n ignored in [[\n .+ fixed and-or priorities.+ more general syntax for function definition (e.g. function a.x.y:f()...end).+ more general syntax for function calls (e.g. (print or write)(9)).+ new functions (time/date, tmpfile, unpack, require, load*, etc.).API:+ chunks are loaded by using lua_load; new luaL_loadfile and luaL_loadbuffer.+ introduced lightweight userdata, a simple "void*" without a metatable.+ new error handling protocol: the core no longer prints error messages;all errors are reported to the caller on the stack.+ new lua_atpanic for host cleanup.+ new, signal-safe, hook scheme.Implementation:+ new license: MIT.+ new, faster, register-based virtual machine.+ support for external multithreading and coroutines.+ new and consistent error message format.+ the core no longer needs "stdio.h" for anything (except for a singleuse of sprintf to convert numbers to strings).+ lua.c now runs the environment variable LUA_INIT, if present. It canbe "@filename", to run a file, or the chunk itself.+ support for user extensions in lua.c.sample implementation given for command line editing.+ new dynamic loading library, active by default on several platforms.+ safe garbage-collector metamethods.+ precompiled bytecodes checked for integrity (secure binary dostring).+ strings are fully aligned.+ position capture in string.find.+ read('*l') can read lines with embedded zeros.* Changes from version 3.2 to 4.0-------------------------------Language:+ new "break" and "for" statements (both numerical and for tables).+ uniform treatment of globals: globals are now stored in a Lua table.+ improved error messages.+ no more '$debug': full speed *and* full debug information.+ new read form: read(N) for next N bytes.+ general read patterns now deprecated.(still available with -DCOMPAT_READPATTERNS.)+ all return values are passed as arguments for the last function(old semantics still available with -DLUA_COMPAT_ARGRET)+ garbage collection tag methods for tables now deprecated.+ there is now only one tag method for order.API:+ New API: fully re-entrant, simpler, and more efficient.+ New debug API.Implementation:+ faster than ever: cleaner virtual machine and new hashing algorithm.+ non-recursive garbage-collector algorithm.+ reduced memory usage for programs with many strings.+ improved treatment for memory allocation errors.+ improved support for 16-bit machines (we hope).+ code now compiles unmodified as both ANSI C and C++.+ numbers in bases other than 10 are converted using strtoul.+ new -f option in Lua to support #! scripts.+ luac can now combine text and binaries.* Changes from version 3.1 to 3.2-------------------------------+ redirected all output in Lua's core to _ERRORMESSAGE and _ALERT.+ increased limit on the number of constants and globals per function(from 2^16 to 2^24).+ debugging info (lua_debug and hooks) moved into lua_state and new APIfunctions provided to get and set this info.+ new debug lib gives full debugging access within Lua.+ new table functions "foreachi", "sort", "tinsert", "tremove", "getn".+ new io functions "flush", "seek".* Changes from version 3.0 to 3.1-------------------------------+ NEW FEATURE: anonymous functions with closures (via "upvalues").+ new syntax:- local variables in chunks.- better scope control with DO block END.- constructors can now be also written: { record-part; list-part }.- more general syntax for function calls and lvalues, e.g.:f(x).y=1o:f(x,y):g(z)f"string" is sugar for f("string")+ strings may now contain arbitrary binary data (e.g., embedded zeros).+ major code re-organization and clean-up; reduced module interdependecies.+ no arbitrary limits on the total number of constants and globals.+ support for multiple global contexts.+ better syntax error messages.+ new traversal functions "foreach" and "foreachvar".+ the default for numbers is now double.changing it to use floats or longs is easy.+ complete debug information stored in pre-compiled chunks.+ sample interpreter now prompts user when run interactively, and alsohandles control-C interruptions gracefully.* Changes from version 2.5 to 3.0-------------------------------+ NEW CONCEPT: "tag methods".Tag methods replace fallbacks as the meta-mechanism for extending thesemantics of Lua. Whereas fallbacks had a global nature, tag methodswork on objects having the same tag (e.g., groups of tables).Existing code that uses fallbacks should work without change.+ new, general syntax for constructors {[exp] = exp, ... }.+ support for handling variable number of arguments in functions (varargs).+ support for conditional compilation ($if ... $else ... $end).+ cleaner semantics in API simplifies host code.+ better support for writing libraries (auxlib.h).+ better type checking and error messages in the standard library.+ luac can now also undump.* Changes from version 2.4 to 2.5-------------------------------+ io and string libraries are now based on pattern matching;the old libraries are still available for compatibility+ dofile and dostring can now return values (via return statement)+ better support for 16- and 64-bit machines+ expanded documentation, with more examples* Changes from version 2.2 to 2.4-------------------------------+ external compiler creates portable binary files that can be loaded faster+ interface for debugging and profiling+ new "getglobal" fallback+ new functions for handling references to Lua objects+ new functions in standard lib+ only one copy of each string is stored+ expanded documentation, with more examples* Changes from version 2.1 to 2.2-------------------------------+ functions now may be declared with any "lvalue" as a name+ garbage collection of functions+ support for pipes* Changes from version 1.1 to 2.1-------------------------------+ object-oriented support+ fallbacks+ simplified syntax for tables+ many internal improvements(end of HISTORY)