How do you return multiple values?

[Geoff Leyland <geoff_leyland@...>]

Hi,

How do you return multiple values from a function that pcalls a  
function that returns an unknown number of values possibly including  
nil in a manner that doesn't involve undefined behaviour?

function a()
  -- could cause an error, could return different numbers of values
  return 1, nil, 2
end

function b()
  local status, r = pcall(function() return { a() } end)
  if not r then error("nicely handled error!") end
  return unpack(r)
end

print(a())   --> 1 nil 2
print(b())   --> 1 nil 2


But, with the new LuaJIT 2 beta:

print(a())   --> 1 nil 2
print(b())   --> 1


That's not a bug, it's just different undefined behavior.  Anyone know  
how to do this in a defined manner?  (unpack(r, 1, <maximum possible  
number of return values of a>) would work, but I'd like to do better).

Cheers,
Geoff