Re: digit strings as table indexes

[David Given <dg@...>]

Jimmie Houchin wrote:
[...]
> These IDs just seemed like such natural indexes that I didn't want to 
> have to code around them if I didn't have to.

Do remember to distinguish between a key that's a number (as in table[4]) and
a string containing digits (as in table["4"]). Both are acceptable, but
they're different keys.

The . syntax for tables is semantic sugar for using a string key, so
table.four and table["four"] are equivalent --- but in this case, the thing
after the . must be a valid keyword, and there are strict rules about that.
When in doubt, use [] syntax.

(Typically, . syntax is only really used for objects and structures. If you're
using a table as an actual dynamic storage device, it's recommended to use [].)

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