RE: [GD-General] Scripting in Lua tutorial

[Tom F. <to...@mu...>]

Python is complex and big (though it still fits happily on a PS2, so it's
not that big), but it's immensely powerful. There's a couple of tools like
SWIG that make interfacing between C and Python really simple - Python can
call C (and C class member functions) and vice versa. Which means it's a
doddle to code stuff up in Python, and then if speed is an issue on that
chunk, move it across to C.

It depends whether you want "just" a scripting language, in which case Lua
seems to be very light and simple, or want to write most of the game code in
a high-level-language, and/or have very powerful scripts, in which case
Python is great.

For more on Python/C integration and using it in real games, check out
Humungous Entertainment's GDC slides. Or I could pass more specific
questions on to our Python expert (I'm just a graphics hacker :-)


Tom Forsyth - Muckyfoot bloke and Microsoft MVP.

This email is the product of your deranged imagination,
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Javier Arevalo [mailto:ja...@py...]
> Sent: 20 December 2002 08:32
> To: gam...@li...
> Subject: Re: [GD-General] Scripting in Lua tutorial
> 
> 
> Parveen Kaler <pk...@sf...> wrote:
> 
> 
> > Lua looks like a very cool language.  What I'd like to see is a
> > document helping me make an educated choice between Lua, Python,
> > Simkin and any other scripting language people would care 
> to throw in.
> 
> Lua is simple and small. Phyton is complex and big. Simkin I 
> have never seen
> but recall it is a bit in between the two.
> 
> All three have got the job done in several games before, so 
> you won't be
> make a bad choice with any of them. The decision to go with 
> small & simple
> versus complex & big depends essentially on how much software 
> engineering
> your designers or script writers are able to do - if they are not
> programmers, go with something as simple as possible.
> 
>   Javier Arevalo
>   Pyro Studios