[WMCoolmon]

I'm far more familiar with Python, but Lua is geared more towards gaming use.

Both are portable.

Both allow compilation on game start (So no time is wasted parsing them after the initial loading).

Both allow fractional calculations.

Both allow custom functions and classes, both by modders or developers working with the source code.

Both would only cause significant additional memory or CPU usage if large amounts of scripting are used.

Both provide all this out of the box.

For more detail (and the full debate) see this thread. Please at least look up Python and/or Lua if you are unfamiliar with them.

So: Python, Lua, or nothing.

'nothing' means that I'm not planning on implementing my custom HUD system, nor is there any chance of me trying to integrate my GUI into all this (Which would let mods create their own rooms and such).

This is not a debate thread. You may post reasons relevant to your vote, but if this turns into a straight argument like the other thread, I will request it be locked.

[Kamikaze]

Here're some links that might help people decide:

Report on Lua in the Gaming Industry
http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/17/182207&from=rss
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/15/2154222&threshold=-1&tid=206&tid=156

Programming with Lua (online book)

[mrduckman]

I'm confortable with perl. But learning something new won't hurt, would it?

[mikhael]

Python for my part. But i'm willing to learn Lua.

[FireCrack]

Mabye you should put some of the diferences in the first post?


EDIT: Kamikaze's links have some



Personaly i'm more in favor of lua.
That said, i'm glad there's going to be a scripting language soon.

Cookie for you!

[Primus]

Pardon my stupidity and off-topic question (feel free to ignore me).

"Which scripting language should fs2_open have?" What language does it use now? C++? You would do HUD and GUI system with Python or Lua, but would this mean that the whole FS2 code would be changed to one of these two languages?

Again, sorry for my dumb, perhaps confusing question but I don't know nothing about coding.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Primus
Pardon my stupidity and off-topic question (feel free to ignore me).

"Which scripting language should fs2_open have?" What language does it use now? C++? You would do HUD and GUI system with Python or Lua, but would this mean that the whole FS2 code would be changed to one of these two languages?

Again, sorry for my dumb, perhaps confusing question but I don't know nothing about coding.

No.  

There'd just be a layer that allowed the user/modder to script something - like hud settings - in a high level scripting language, and which would then act to (for lack of a better term) translate that into the appropriate calls/variable settings in the C++ code.

(may be slightly inaccurate, but I think that's a gist)

A bit like how you can specify stuff in tbls, except that you have more flexibility by the nature of (a) scripting language.  You can do this with a bespoke solution , of course, but it'd be a lot harder/longer to code in AFAIK.

(there isn't really a scripting language in FS2/FSO at the moment; arguably SEXPs form that for missions, but WCM isn't talking about missions here )

[Nuke]

i had a peak at lua and i sorta like its syntax better, its sorta reminicent of the vb i used in highschool.  but either way i will need to learn a new language. what ive read says it would be more effietient at what were aiming for and is slightly better on system resources. so given the two choices posted here id loosly lean twards lua. my opinion in the matter seems abit shifty at the moment, as im pretty much in the dark about either language..

[Kazan]

none - it already has an expression system

[Mr_Maniac]

I would vote for LUA, I think...

[Inquisitor]

I'd like to see a tech demo of the python system before I vote.

[Goober5000]

If you must, then Lua.

[karajorma]

If I'm forced to pick I'd go with Lua too.

Not too certain I like the fact that I'd have to implement every collection from a map but I suppose I could get used to it.

[WMCoolmon]

Originally posted by Inquisitor
I'd like to see a tech demo of the python system before I vote.

http://www.hard-light.net/forums/index.php/topic,35860.0.html

Like I say, it's a crude implementation - my thinking was that you'd implement it on more of a per-field basis - but it's there.

aldo's right about the function of a scripting language. You could conceivably code a game in it, but in this case it would be used to let you fill in fields with formulas or script events if something happened. I might leave the techdemo system in; I can see it being fairly useful.

[Inquisitor]

Can you clarify some things for me, since the other thread is a bit dense, I read, or I thought i read, that this scripting system would be "optional" what exactly did you mean?

[WMCoolmon]

Two ways. One, it could be another compiler flag.

Two, the way Python is done anyways, in order to insert a 'hook' I could just check to see if the bytecode pointer was NULL before doing anything else. Thus, no part of the interpreter/VM, beyond the initialization and destruction functions, would be run unless there was Python to parse.

I'm not familiar with Lua enough yet to know whether or not the same would be possible with it.

[butter_pat_head]

I vote LUA.  I looked at the Wiki link and to me it looks like BASIC on steroids.  And I know my BASIC...

BTW, what is the difference between a Programming language and a Scripting language?  I mainly do VB (ver 5, not that .net carp) now and I have heard it being called both.

(sorry to go a little OT there)

Any language that dosen't need to end its lines with ; gets my approval!:lol:

[WMCoolmon]

A programming language is meant to be compiled into machine code (ie simple instructions to the processor what to do) and then run, while a scripting layer is meant to be interpreted without a major compile step, but is run on top of another layer of code (implemented with a programming language) that actually translates the script into machine code.

The final result is that scripting runs slower, but can be edited far far easier since you don't have to wait for it to compile. It can also handle errors better, because the layer translating to machine code can keep the scripting language from making calls that would usually crash the program.

So, I think Visual Basic is both. You can either make a standalone executable, or you can run it in other programs - without compiling - as a scripting language.

[Nuke]

i remember all the vb programs i wrote in highschool couldnt really be run without a couple megs of dll files and whatnot. not sure if that was microsoft bloat or a script interpreter.

[CaptJosh]

It's deffinitely scripting interpereters. You're talking about the various versions of vbrun???.dll, right?