Re: 5.2 and 5.1

[Dirk Laurie <dirk.laurie@...>]

2013/4/10 Greg Lewin <greg.lewin@gmail.com>:

> 1)  if there is such a major compatibility break, why are they both flagged
> as 5.x ? (this looks like the same sort of discussion the Python community
> is having over 2.x vs. 3.x, which they acknowledge as a major break).

There is no major compatibility break. Writing code which runs under
both Lua 5.1 and 5.2 is easy, you just have to remember that is what
you are trying to do.

As for Python's incompatibilities: Lua has nothing like it. Large
applications that need Lua, e.g. Love2D, LuaTeX, or GSL-shell, don't
rely on whatever Lua your system has installed. They include the full
Lua source code and compile it in. There is no pressure whatsoever on
those packages to upgrade urgently.

> 2)  Is there any sign that Lua is settling down to a really stable
> specification, when this sort of thing will no longer be a serious issue?
> (c.f. the current stable state of Python 2.x, seen as just itself without
> worrying about the impending 3.x).

Tomorrow will be the 10th anniversary of the Lua 5 series. Even 5.0 code
is still 95% usable as is, and the version of "Programming in Lua" based
on it that you can find gratis on the Internet is largely still valid.

Lus 5.1 lasted unchanged for 7 years, there is every reason to think
that Lua 5.2 will last even longer, despite the nattering nabobs of
neology that hang out on this list.