Lua Language

Lua is an interpreted language that is used for scripting in Total War. It's lightweight, fast, and easy to use.

Lua instructions are written in a text file, which is generally given a .lua file extension. The game looks to load certain script files when loading, and may be configured to load specific scripts when loading a particular campaign or battle.

Version 5.1 of lua is used in Total War scripting - the latest at time of writing is version 5.3.5.

Whitespace in lua is ignored, so scripts can be spaced out according to the scripters preference. Lua statements may optionally be terminated with a semicolon. Individual lines may be commented with -- - this causes the rest of the line to be ignored. Blocks of script of any size may be commented with --[[ script ]]. These blocks may not be nested, however.

Lua is case-sensitive, so variables named value, Value and VALUE are all different. This is a common source of bugs.

Example:

-- this line is commented
--[[
this line is also commented
]]
value = 6
print(value);        -- semicolon optional
print(Value)
6
nil
Relevant in Campaign Loaded in Campaign
Relevant in Battle Loaded in Battle
Relevant in Frontend Loaded in Frontend
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More Information

More information about lua can be found on the following sites:

https://www.lua.orgLua homepage.
https://www.lua.org/demo.htmlLua demo site - allows snippets of script to be tested outside of the game (very useful).
https://www.lua.org/manual/5.1/The lua manual.
http://lua-users.org/wiki/Lua wiki - contains useful information about supplied libraries.
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/lua/Lua tutorial - others are available.

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Lua Data Types

Lua supports only eight data types, six of which are documented further down this page:

Data TypeDescription
nilThe absence of a value.
booleantrue/false values.
numberFloating-point numeric values.
stringText values.
functionExecutable chunks of script.
tableDynamically-sized key/value lists, may be used to build complex data structures.
userdataObjects provided by the host program to lua, with an interface on which script may make function calls.
threadRepresents independent threads of execution - not supported in Total War scripting.

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Local and Global Variables

Variables created in lua are global by default, which means they are accessible across the entire scope of the script. Variables can optionally be declared with local scope, whereby they only persist for the lifetime of the block in which they are declared. It is strongly encouraged to declare variables with local scope unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, as it lessens the risk of them being accessed or overwritten by accident.

Example:

-- global and local variable declarations
g_var_one = 10
local l_var_one = 20

-- declarations within a block
if g_var_one then
    g_var_two = 20
    local l_var_two = 30    -- will fall out of scope as the block ends
end

print("g_var_one: " .. tostring(g_var_one))
print("l_var_one: " .. tostring(l_var_one))
print("g_var_two: " .. tostring(g_var_two))
print("l_var_two: " .. tostring(l_var_two))
g_var_one: 10
l_var_one: 20
g_var_two: 20
l_var_two: nil
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if statements

An if statement may be used to perform a logical test and, based on the boolean result of that test, execute different blocks of instruction. An if statement will execute a block of script specified by a mandatory then operator if the logical test evaluates to true, or a second optional block specified by an else operator if it doesn't. Each if statement must be terminated by the keyword end.

An else operator following another if statement may be combined into an elseif operator. Converting nested if statements to elseif operators in this way saves on having to terminate each if statement with end - see the example below.

Example:

t = true
f = false

if t == true then
    print("t is true")
end

if f == true then
    print("f is true")
else
    print("f is false")
end

n = 28

if n < 5 then
    print("n is less than 5")
elseif n < 10 then
    print("n is less than 10")
elseif n < 15 then
    print("n is less than 15")
elseif n < 20 then
    print("n is less than 20")
else
    print("n is greater than or equal to 20")
end
t is true
f is false
n is greater than or equal to 20
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Conditional Operators

Conditional tests may be performed by structures such as if statements, while loops and repeat loops to make decisions about what scripts to execute. Any values can be evaluated in a conditional test - non-boolean values may be evaluated in a boolean manner as follows:

  • false boolean values, and nil values, evaluate to false.
  • Any other value evaluates to true (including the number 0, which evaluates to false in C).

The logical operator not may be used to negate the result of a boolean - if passed a true value it returns false, and if passed a false value it returns true. The value returned by the not operator is always boolean, even if the value supplied was not. The statement x = not not x converts x to a boolean value, therefore.

The logical operators and and or may be used to assess multiple boolean conditions together. The and operator returns true if both of the expressions passed to it evaluate to true themselves. The or operator returns the second value passed to it if the first evaluates to false, otherwise the first value is returned. Unlike and, not and other comparison operators, therefore, or can return something other than a boolean value. This can be useful for setting default values for a variable - see the example below.

The lua interpreter reads forward when performing conditional tests, and will not evaluate expressions that it doesn't need to. For example, if the first expression passed to an and operator evaluates to false then the second is never evaluated. Likewise, if the first expression passed to an or operator evaluates to true then the second expression is never evaluated (and the first is returned). These constructs can both be useful in different ways - see the examples below.

The not operator has precedence (meaning it gets evaluated first), followed by the and operator and finally the or operator. Parenthesis () can be used to override the natural order of precedence.

Example - Relying on conversion to boolean to test existence of value:

num_value = 10

-- A number of any value evaluates to true.
-- This is akin to saying "if num_value has been set.."
if num_value then
    print("num_value evaluates to true")
end
num_value evaluates to true

Example - Using 'not' to convert to boolean:

num_value = 10

print("not num_value: " .. not num_value)
print("not not num_value: " .. not not num_value)
not num_value: false
not not num_value: true

Example - and/or operator examples:

t = true
f = false

if t and f then
    print("this should never get printed")
end

if t and not f then            -- "not f" evaluates to true
    print("this should get printed")
end

if t or f then
    print("either t or f is true")
end
this should get printed
either t or f is true

Example - Compound logical test of greater length, with parenthesis:

t = true
f = false

if not (t and (not f or not t)) then
    print("???")
else
    print("wha?")
end
wha?

Example - Using 'or' to set a default value during an assignment operation:

function returns_nothing()
    -- do nothing
end

-- returns_nothing() evaluates to nil/false,
-- so 'or' will return the second value here
value = returns_nothing() or 1
print("value is " .. tostring(value))
value is 1

Example - Using 'and' to test existence or type before value of variable, to prevent errors :

This example shows how the 'and' operator can be used in a serial to guard operations on values that might otherwise fail and cause script errors. Performing a numeric comparison such as > on a non-numeric value is illegal and would cause a script failure. This is prevented by the first expression which tests whether value is a number. If value is not a number, and the type check returns false, lua will not proceed on to evaluate the second expression (containing the numeric comparison) as the interpreter is smart enough to realise that it can't affect the final result.
function test_value(value)
    if type(value) == "number" and value > 10 then
        print("value " .. tostring(value) .. " is a number > 10")
    else
        print("value " .. tostring(value) .. " is not a number or a number <= 10")
    end
end

test_value(20)
test_value("hello")
test_value(false)
value 20 is a number > 10
value hello is not a number or a number <= 10
value false is not a number or a number <= 10
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Standard Functions

Lua provides a number of standard functions for various puposes, some of which are documented below.

print(... values to print)

Prints one or more supplied values to the standard output. In Total War games, the standard output is the game console, and optionally also a text file. Non-string values passed to the function are cast to string before printing.

Parameters:

1

...

values to print

Returns:

  1. nil

Example:

print("hello")        -- string
print(5, 3)        -- two numbers
print({})            -- a table
hello
5    3
table: 0xb805do

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 192

type(variable variable)

Returns the type of a specified value as a string.

Parameters:

1

variable

variable

Returns:

  1. string type

Example:

print(type(not_defined))
print(type("hello"))
print(type(5))
print(type({}))
nil
string
number
table

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 203

tostring(variable variable)

Returns the specified value cast to a string. The specified value is unaffected.

Parameters:

1

variable

variable

Returns:

  1. string variable cast to string

Example:

value = 6
value_as_string = tostring(value)
print(value, type(value))
print(value_as_string, type(value_as_string))
6    number
6    string

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 217

tonumber(variable variable)

Returns the specified string value cast to a number. This only works for string values that contain numeric characters (e.g. "65"). If the supplied value is a string that does not contain numeric characters, or is any other value other than a number then nil is returned.

Parameters:

1

variable

variable

Returns:

  1. number variable cast to number

Example:

numeric_str_value = "26"
non_numeric_str_value = "hello"
number_value = 18
boolean_value = true
table_value = {}
print(tonumber(numeric_str_value), tonumber(non_numeric_str_value), tonumber(number_value), tonumber(boolean_value), tonumber(table_value))
26    nil    18    nil    nil

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 229

loadstring(string lua string)

Returns an executable function created from a string. This string may be constructed manually, or generated by another function such as string.dump. When the returned function is executed the lua script contained within the specified string is run.
Use this function sparingly. See external documentation for more information.

Parameters:

1

string

lua string

Returns:

  1. function lua function

Example:

function test_func()
    print("hello");
end;

local str_a = string.dump(test_func);
local str_b = "print(\"123\")";

func_a = loadstring(str_a);
func_b = loadstring(str_b);

func_a()
func_b()
hello
123

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 242


Nil

The data type nil represents the absence of a value in lua. nil is both the name of the type and also the only value that a variable of that type can take. All variables contain the value nil, and are of type nil, before they are declared. Assigning nil to a variable is the same as deleting it.

nil values resolve to false when considered in a logical expression.

Example:

print("no_value has a value of " .. tostring(no_value) .. " and is of type " .. type(no_value))

some_value = 6
some_value = nil     -- deleting
if not some_value then
    print("some_value is false or nil")
end
no_value has a value of nil and is of type nil
some_value is false or nil

Booleans

Boolean values may be either true or false. Boolean values are of most use when evaluated by language structures such as if statements and while loops that perform logical tests and take action based on the result. The logical operators and, or and not can be used to evaluate booleans.

See the section on Conditional Operators for more information.

Example:

t = true

-- must use tostring as the .. concatenation operator wont work with booleans
print("t is " .. tostring(t) .. " and of type " .. type(t))

f = 6 > 7        -- logical expression evaluates to false

print("f is " .. tostring(f))
print("not f is " .. tostring(not f))
print("f and t is " .. tostring(f or t))
if f or t then
    print("f or t must be true!")
end
t is true and of type boolean
f is false
not f is true
f and t is true
f or t must be true!

Numbers

Numeric values in lua are real, so they may contain decimal places. There is no integer numeric type. The default lua language specification sets numbers to be stored as double-precision floats. At time of writing, however, numbers in Total War's implementation of lua are stored as single-precision floats, which offer only about 7 digits of precision. Scripters should be aware of this limitation when planning scripts that may potentially have to deal with very large or precise numbers.

Number values can be added, subtracted, multiplied and divided with the +, -, * and / operators respectively. Exponents may be expressed with the ^ operator.

Example:

a = 5
b = a + 10
c = b * 2
d = c / 10
e = a ^ d
print(a, b, c, d, e)
5    15    30    3.0    125.0

Strings

Strings are variables containing representations of text. A string may be specified by enclosing a value in matching single or double quotes. A string can be zero, one or more characters long, with no upper limit beyond the amount of memory available.

Strings may be joined together using the concatenation operator, ...

Example:

str_a = "hello"
str_b = "world"
print(str_a .. " " .. str_b)
hello world
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String Patterns

Some of the string functions described in the next section make use of string patterns, a method of matching sequences of characters akin to regular expressions. More information about lua string patterns may be found on lua-users.org here.

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String Library

Lua provides a number of operations that can be performed on strings, listed below. More detailed information about these functions may be found on the dedicated page on lua-users.org here.

The functions may be called in the form string.<function>(<string>, <arguments>), or <string>:<function>(<arguments>) where appropriate.

string.byte([number first char], [number last char])

Returns the numerical code corresponding to the characters of a specified portion of the string. The portion of the string is specified by index positions of the start and end characters.

Parameters:

1

number

optional, default value=1

Position of first character in the substring. If this is not a valid character index for this string then nil is returned.

2

number

optional, default value=1

Position of last character in the substring. If the first character position is specified and this is not, then this is set to the value of the first character position (so that only one character is returned).

Returns:

  1. ... number character value(s)

Example:

print(string.byte("hello"))        -- prints first character by default
print(string.byte("hello", 4))        -- print single character
print(string.byte("hello", 1, 3))    -- prints range of characters
104
108
104    101    108

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 383

string.char(... character values)

Returns a string constructed from the specified numeric character values. Number character values can be obtained with string.byte.

Parameters:

1

...

Vararg of number character values.

Returns:

  1. nil

Example:

print(string.char(104, 101, 108, 108, 111))
hello

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 396

string.dump(function function)

Returns a string representation of a supplied function, which can later be passed to the loadstring function to be reconstituted as an executable function.

Parameters:

1

function

function

Returns:

  1. string string representation

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 403

string.ends_with(string subject string, string substring)

Returns true if the subject string ends with the supplied substring, or false othewise.

Parameters:

1

string

subject string

2

string

substring

Returns:

  1. nil

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 409

string.find(string string, string substring, [number start index])

Returns the position of the first occurrence of a supplied substring in the subject string. If the supplied substring is found within the subject string then the start and end character positions of the substring are returned. nil is returned if the substring is not found.
This implementation of len is provided by our game code to support utf8 strings. It does not support pattern matching - see string.find_lua for the original language implementation which does.

Parameters:

1

string

Subject string.

2

string

String pattern to search for.

3

number

optional, default value=1

Position of character at which to start the search. Supply a negative number to specify a character from the end of the string, counting back.

Returns:

  1. number first character index
  2. number last character index

Example:

local str = "This is a test string"
print(string.find(str, "test"))
11    14

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 418

string.find_lua(string string, string substring, [number start index], [boolean disable pattern matching])

Returns the position of the first occurrence of a supplied substring in the subject string. If the supplied substring is found within the subject string then the start and end character positions of the substring are returned. nil is returned if the substring is not found.
This is the original lua language implementation of len, which does not support utf8 strings but which does support pattern matching. See the lua wiki for more information about lua patterns.

Parameters:

1

string

Subject string.

2

string

String pattern to search for.

3

number

optional, default value=1

Position of character at which to start the search. Supply a negative number to specify a character from the end of the string, counting back.

4

boolean

optional, default value=false

Disables pattern matching if set to true.

Returns:

  1. number first character index
  2. number last character index

Example:

local str = "this is a test string"
print(string.find_lua(str, "%s"));        -- find first space
5    5

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 431

string.format(string container string, ... values to insert)

Returns a formatted string from the formatting string and then arguments provided, in a similar style to the C function printf. The formatting string may contain the following special characters:

CharacterData TypeDescription
%cnumber (character code)The supplied numerical character code (see string.byte) will be converted into its string representation.
%dnumber (integer)The supplied integer, to be preceded by up to up to seven leading zeroes, the number of which may optionally be specified alongside the special character e.g. %04d. If no number is specified then the integer is included in the returned string as it was given.
%enumberThe supplied number will be formatted as an exponent, with the output in lower-case.
%EnumberThe supplied number will be formatted as an exponent, with the output in upper-case.
%fnumberThe specified number will be formated as a floating-point value. A specific format for the number may optionally be specified alongside the special character e.g. %4.1f would specify that the floating point number should be formatted with four digits preceding the decimal point and one digit following it.
%gnumberThe specified number will be formated as a compact floating-point value, or as an exponent (if too many digits) in lower-case.
%GnumberThe specified number will be formated as a compact floating-point value, or as an exponent (if too many digits) in upper-case.
%inumber (integer)The supplied integer value will be formatted as a signed integer.
%onumber (integer)The supplied integer value will be formatted as an octal value.
%qstringThe supplied string will be enclosed in strings (as a quotation) when returned.
%sstringA string value.
%unumber (integer)The supplied value will be formatted as an unsigned integer.
%xnumber (integer)The supplied value will be formatted as a hexadecimal integer in lower-case.
%Xnumber (integer)The supplied value will be formatted as a hexadecimal integer in upper-case.
The function will throw an error if it's unable to convert the number specified into an integer value (should one be expected).

Parameters:

1

string

String containing special characters to insert values into.

2

...

One or more values to insert into the container string, in the order that the special characters are found.

Returns:

  1. string result

Example - Inserting character codes with %c:

local str = string.format("hello %c %c %c, pleased to meet you", 65, 66, 67)
print(str)
hello A B C, pleased to meet you

Example - Specifying the string length of an integer with %d:

local str = string.format("These integers will be displayed with at least 5 digits: %05d %05d %05d", 12, 1234, 123456)
print(str)
These integers will be displayed with at least 5 digits: 00012 01234 123456

Example - Lower/Upper-case exponents with %e and %E:

local str = string.format("Exponents: %e %E", 1234.56, 1234.56)
print(str)
Exponents: 1.234560e+03 1.234560E+03

Example - Floating point values with %f:

local str = string.format("Floating point values: %f %3.1f", 123456.78, 123456.78)
print(str)
Floating point values: 123456.780000 123456.8

Example - Compact floating point values with %g and %G:

local str = string.format("Compact floating point values: %g %g %G", 123456, 12345678, 12345678)
print(str)
Compact floating point values: 123456 1.23457e+07 1.23457E+07

Example - Signed, Unsigned, Octal and Hexadecimal integers:

local str = string.format("Signed: %i, Unsigned: %u, Octal: %o, Hex: %x", -100, -100, -100, -100)
print(str)
Signed: -100, Unsigned: 4294967196, Octal: 37777777634, Hex: ffffff9c

Example - Strings:

local str = string.format("Unquoted: %s, quoted: %q", "test", "test")
print(str)
Unquoted: test, quoted: "test"

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 445

string.gmatch(string subject string, string pattern)

Returns a pattern-finding iterator. More information about iterators and lua string patterns may be found externally - see String Patterns.

Parameters:

1

string

subject string

2

string

pattern

Returns:

  1. iterator

Example:

local str = "This is a test string"
local wordcount = 0
for word in string.gmatch(str, "%a+") do
wordcount = wordcount + 1
end
print(string.format("%q contains %d words", str, wordcount))
"This is a test string" contains 5 words

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 496

string.gsub(string subject, string pattern, string replacement, [number count])

This function takes a subject string, a pattern string and a replacement string, and performs a search based on the pattern string within the subject string. Should any parts of the pattern match, those parts of the subject string are replaced with the replacement string. The resulting string is then returned. An optional count argument may also be specified to limit the number of pattern replacements that may be performed.

Parameters:

1

string

Subject string.

2

string

Pattern string. More information about lua patterns may be found here: String Patterns

3

string

Replacement string.

4

number

optional, default value=nil

Maximum number of times the replacement can be performed. If left unset, then no maximum is applied.

Returns:

  1. string result

Example:

-- replace all spaces with underscores
result = string.gsub("this is a test string", " ", "_")
print(result)
this_is_a_test_string

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 510

string.len(string input)

Returns the number of characters in the supplied string. This implementation of len is provided by our game code, see string.len_lua for the original language implementation.

Parameters:

1

string

input

Returns:

  1. number length

Example:

str = "hello"
print(str:len())
5

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 523

string.len_lua(string input)

Returns the number of characters in the supplied string. This is the original lua language implementation of len, which does not support utf8 strings.

Parameters:

1

string

input

Returns:

  1. number length

Example:

str = "hello"
print(str:len_lua())
5

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 532

string.lower(string input)

Returns the supplied string, converted to lowercase.

Parameters:

1

string

input

Returns:

  1. string converted string

Example:

str = "A Test String"
print(string.lower(str))
a test string

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 541

string.match(string subject, string pattern, [number start character])

Returns a substring of the supplied string, by a supplied pattern. An optional index may also be used to specify a character at which the search should be started.
More information about patterns may be found here: String Patterns.

Parameters:

1

string

Subject string to search.

2

string

Search pattern.

3

number

optional, default value=1

Start character within the subject string.

Returns:

  1. string matching string

Example:

str = "THIS WORD here IS LOWERCASE"
print(string.match(str, "%l+"))
here

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 550

string.rep(string source, number count)

Generates and returns a string which is a supplied number of copies of the supplied string, all concatenated together.

Parameters:

1

string

source

2

number

count

Returns:

  1. string result

Example:

print(string.rep("test", 3))
testtesttest

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 562

string.reverse(string input)

Returns the supplied string with the character order reversed.

Parameters:

1

string

input

Returns:

  1. string reversed string

Example:

print(string.reverse("forward"))
drawrof

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 571

string.starts_with(string subject string, string substring)

Returns true if the subject string starts with the supplied substring, or false othewise.

Parameters:

1

string

subject string

2

string

substring

Returns:

  1. nil

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 579

string.sub(string input, number start index, [number end index])

Returns a section of the supplied string, specified by start and (optionally) end character positions. The substring will include the characters specified by the start and end positions.
This implementation of sub is provided by our game code, see string.sub_lua for the original language implementation.

Parameters:

1

string

Subject string.

2

number

Position of the starting character of the substring. If a negative number is specified then the function counts back from the end of the string.

3

number

optional, default value=nil

Position of the end character of the desired substring. If omitted, then the end of the supplied string is used as the end of the substring. If a negative number is specified then the function counts back from the end of the string to find this character.

Returns:

  1. nil

Example - From character 11 until the end:

str = "this is a test string"
print(string.sub(str, 11))
test string

Example - From characters 11 through to 14 :

str = "this is a test string"
print(string.sub(str, 11, 14))
test

Example - From 13 characters from the end, onwards:

str = "this is a test string"
print(string.sub(str, -13))
a test string

Example - From 13 characters from the end until 9 from the start:

str = "this is a test string"
print(string.sub(str, -13, 9))
a

Example - From 13 characters from the end until 8 from the end:

str = "this is a test string"
print(string.sub(str, -13, -8))
a test

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 588

string.sub_lua(string input, number start index, [number end index])

Returns a section of the supplied string, specified by start and (optionally) end character positions. The substring will include the characters specified by the start and end positions.
This is the original lua language implementation of sub, which does not support utf8 strings.

Parameters:

1

string

Subject string.

2

number

Position of the starting character of the substring. If a negative number is specified then the function counts back from the end of the string.

3

number

optional, default value=nil

Position of the end character of the desired substring. If omitted, then the end of the supplied string is used as the end of the substring. If a negative number is specified then the function counts back from the end of the string to find this character.

Returns:

  1. nil

Example - From character 11 until the end:

str = "this is a test string"
print(string.sub_lua(str, 11))
test string

Example - From characters 11 through to 14 :

str = "this is a test string"
print(string.sub_lua(str, 11, 14))
test

Example - From 13 characters from the end, onwards:

str = "this is a test string"
print(string.sub_lua(str, -13))
a test string

Example - From 13 characters from the end until 9 from the start:

str = "this is a test string"
print(string.sub_lua(str, -13, 9))
a

Example - From 13 characters from the end until 8 from the end:

str = "this is a test string"
print(string.sub_lua(str, -13, -8))
a test

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 616

string.split(string subject_str, string split_str)

Returns a list representing the specified subject_str split up by occurances of split_str, not including those occurances.
An empty table is returned if no occurances of split_str are found.

Parameters:

1

string

The string to be split.

2

string

The character or string to split the subject string at.

Returns:

  1. nil

Example - Splitting a string by spaces:

string.split("The quick brown fox", ' ')
{ "The", "quick", "brown", "fox" }

Example - Splitting a string with another string (note that the pattern matches at its earliest possible location):

{ "Bananas: Price ", "-- £150" }

Example - Trimming the start and end occurances of spaces:

string.split("NoSpacesHere", ' ')
{ "NoSpacesHere" }

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 644

string.upper(string input)

Returns the supplied string, converted to uppercase.

Parameters:

1

string

input

Returns:

  1. string converted string

Example:

str = "A Test String"
print(string.upper(str))
A TEST STRING

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 677


Functions

Functions are chunks of script that, when executed, perform one or more operations and then return control to the script that called them. Function declarations begin with the function keyword, and end with a corresponding end keyword. They are useful for encapsulating tasks that need to be performed repeatedly.

Functions can optionally take one or more argument values from the calling script. This allows a single function to produce different results when run repeatedly, based on its input values. Functions may also optionally return one or more values to the script that called them.

Functions in lua are first-class values, which means that they may be assigned and re-assigned to variables in exactly the same manner as number values, string values and so on. As with other variables types in lua it's possible for functions to be anonymous, where they are created without a name.

Once declared, a function can be called and executed in script by appending open and close parenthesis characters to its name in the form <function_name>(arg1, arg2). See the examples below.

Example - Simple function declaration and execution:

-- declare a function variable called test_function that takes no arguments
function test_function()
    print("test_function() called");
end

-- call test_function, after it has been declared
test_function()
test_function() called

Example - Alternative form of function declaration:

This alternative form of function declaration is identical to the previous example. It better illustrates the nature of functions as just another type of variable, created by assignment like a string or number.
-- declare a function variable called test_function that takes no arguments
test_function = function()
    print("test_function() called");
end

-- call test_function, after it has been declared
test_function()
test_function() called

Example - Function taking two arguments:

Arguments can be specified in the function specification as follows. The arguments will be accessible as local variables throughout the lifetime of the function.
-- declare a function that takes two arguments called 'first' and 'second'
f = function(first, second)
    print("f() called");
    print("\tfirst is " .. tostring(first));
    print("\tsecond is " .. tostring(second));
end

-- call f
f("hello", "goodbye")
f("lonely")            -- deliberately not supplying a second arg
f(nil, "lonely")        -- deliberately not supplying a first arg
f() called
    first is hello
    second is goodbye
f() called
    first is lonely
    second is nil        -- value of unsupplied arguments is nil
f() called
    first is nil
    second is lonely

Example - Function returning two values:

function get_1080p_screen_resolution()
    return 1920, 1080;
end

local x, y = get_1080p_screen_resolution()
print("1080p screen resolution is [" .. x .. ", " .. y .. "]")
1080p screen resolution is [1920, 1080]

Example - Example of passing functions as arguments to another function:

This includes an example of an anonymous function.
-- this function takes an argument and prints whether it's a function or not
function is_function(name, obj)
    if type(obj) == "function" then
        print(name .. " is a function");
    else
        print(name .. " is not a function");
    end
end

a_number = 5
a_function = function() print("hello!") end

-- make calls to is_function. First arg is string name, second arg is value to test
is_function("a_number", a_number)
is_function("a_function", a_function)

-- pass through an anonymous function
is_function("anonymous_function", function() print("this is an anonymous function!") end)

-- pass is_function itself into is_function...
is_function("is_function", is_function)
a_number is not a function
a_function is a function
anonymous_function is a function
is_function is a function
Back to top

Varargs

A function can also take a variable number of arguments in a vararg structure. Using varargs, an unlimited number of arguments can be supplied to a function, which accesses them as elements in a table created within the function block called arg. The number of arguments can be accessed at the special element n within the arg table. See the examples below.

Example:

-- the ... argument in the function declaration specifies that the function takes a vararg
function print_all(...)
    for i = 1, arg.n do
        print("arg " .. i .. " is " .. tostring(arg[i]))
    end
end

-- call print_all() with as many arguments as we like
print_all("hello", "goodbye", 1, 2, 3)
arg 1 is hello
arg 2 is goodbye
arg 3 is 1
arg 4 is 2
arg 5 is 3

Tables

Tables are the sole container type in lua, and as such are the mechanism available for building complex data structures. They are associative arrays, which means they store sets of key/value pairs. A value in a table is stored in a record corresponding to a key, and that value may later accessed or modified using that same key. Keys are most commonly number or string values, but may be of any type other than nil. Values stored against keys can be of any type, including function or table (allowing tables to be nested), although a value of nil is the same as the value/record not existing.

Elements in a table may be accessed using [] square brackets, or by using the . accessor if the key is a string, as shown in the examples below:

Example:

-- assign a string value to table t at a numeric key
t[5] = "hello"

-- assign a number value at a string key
t["age"] = 25

-- assign a value to a key, but where we evaluate the key from another variable
key_name = "hair_colour"
t[key_name] = "brown"

-- alternative method for assigning to a string key within a table
t.name = "Peter"

-- access elements in the table (using a variety of methods)
print(t[name] .. " is " .. t[age] .. " years old, his hair colour is " .. t.hair_colour)
Peter is 25 years old, his hair colour is brown
Back to top

Creation

Before a table can be used it must be created with a table constructor, which is a pair of {} braces. Values, or key/value pairs, can be included within the constructor so that they are stored in the table from creation. See the examples below:

Example - Create an empty table:

t = {}

Example - Create a table containing a list of values:

Each new value is inserted into the table at the first available integer key, starting at 1.
-- The value "first" is stored with a key of 1
-- The value "second" is stored with a key of 2
-- .. and so on
t = { "first", "second", "third", "fourth" }

Example - Create a table with key/values:

t = { [10] = "ten", [20] = "twenty", [30] = "thirty" }

Example - Create a table with key/values, but where the key is evaluated:

key_name = "title"
t = { [key_name] = "doctor" }
print(t.title)
doctor
Back to top

Standard Traversal

Tables can be traversed by numeric sequence if their keys are arranged accordingly. The size of a table where values are assigned at ascending numeric integer keys can be accessed with the # operator. This reports the first integer key n for which no value is stored at key n + 1.

Example - Examples of #t:

t1 = { "yes", "no", "maybe", "sometimes", "rarely" }                                 -- values are stored at ascending keys
t2 = { [1] = "hello", [2] = "bonjour", [3] = "gutentag", [5] = "salut" }             -- missing value stored at key 4
print("size of t1: " .. #t1)
print("size of t2: " .. #t2)
size of t1: 5
size of t2: 3

Example - Traversal by numeric sequence:

t = { "my", "enormous", "green", "boots", "dont", "fit" }
for i = 1, #t do
    print("\tkey: " .. i .. ", value: " .. t[i])
end
key: 1, value: my
key: 2, value: enormous
key: 3, value: green
key: 4, value: boots
key: 5, value: dont
key: 6, value: fit
Back to top

Traversal Using Iterators

The iterator functions ipairs and pairs are available for iterating over tables where standard traversal may not be possible or desirable.

The ipairs iterator behaves much the same as traversing over a table in numeric sequence. The main difference is that local variables for the key and optionally the value are automatically created. The ipairs iterator stops at the first integer key to which a value is not assigned.

Unlike ipairs and numeric traversal, the pairs iterator allows traversal over all elements in a table, regardless of key type or any "gaps" in the data. The main caveat to usage is that the order of traversal is not defined, and can change between iteration instances. As such, the pairs iterator is unsafe to use in multiplayer scripts as two different machines will traverse the same table in different orders.

Example - ipairs example:

t = { [1] = "first", [2] = "second", [3] = "third", [5] = "fifth" }         -- gap at 4
for key, value in ipairs(t) do
    -- local variables called 'key' and 'value' are automatically created each loop cycle
    print("key: " .. key .. ", value: " .. value);
end
key: 1, value: first
key: 2, value: second
key: 3, value: third

Example - pairs example:

Note how the order of the output is arbitrary.
-- table with keys of lots of different types - impossible to traverse with #t or ipairs
t = {
    [1] = "first",
    ["greeting"] = "hello",
    [5] = "fifth",
    [10] = "tenth",
    [true] = "this has a boolean key",
    [function() print("hello") end] = "This has a function key! Weird but possible"
}
for key, value in pairs(t) do
    print("key: " .. tostring(key) .. ", value: " .. tostring(value));
end
key: 1, value: first
key: greeting, value: hello
key: function: 0x2194d10, value: This has a function key! Weird but possible
key: 5, value: fifth
key: true, value: this has a boolean key
key: 10, value: tenth
Back to top

Table Library

Lua provides a library of operations that can be performed on tables, listed below. More detailed information about these functions may be found on the dedicated page on lua-users.org here.

The functions may be called in the form table.<function>(<t>, <arguments>).

table:concat(table table, [string separator], [number start element], [number end element])

Concatenates the values in the supplied table into a string, with optional separator characters, and returns that string. This can be a memory-efficient way of concatenating large amounts of strings together.

Parameters:

1

table

Table to concatenate.

2

string

optional, default value=""

Separator string to insert between elements from the table.

3

number

optional, default value=1

Table element at which to start concatenating.

4

number

optional, default value=<table_size>

Table element at which to finish concatenating.

Returns:

  1. nil

Example:

t = {"first", "second", "third", "fourth", "fifth"}
print(table.concat(t))
print(table.concat(t, " ", 2, 4))
firstsecondthirdfourthfifth
second third fourth

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 923

table:insert(table table, [number position], obj value)

Inserts a value into the supplied table. The index at which to insert the value may optionally be specified - note that this can change the sequence of arguments.
If no position argument is specified then the first available integer key in ascending order is chosen, starting from 1.

Parameters:

1

table

Table to insert element in to.

2

number

optional, default value=<table_size>

Position at which to insert value. Note that this may be omitted, in which case the value to insert should be specified as the second argument. In this case the first available integer key is chosen, ascending from 1.

3

obj

Value to insert. If a third argument is omitted, the second is taken as the value to insert.

Returns:

  1. nil

Example:

t = {1, 2, 3}
table.insert(t, "hello")            -- insert "hello" as the last element in the table
table.insert(t, 3, "goodbye")        -- insert "goodbye" as the third element in the table
print(table.concat(t, " "))
1 2 goodbye 3 hello

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 936

table:maxn(table table)

Returns the largest positive numeric index within the supplied table at which a value is assigned. Unlike the # operator, this will not stop counting if a gap in the integer sequence is found.

Parameters:

1

table

table

Returns:

  1. number highest index

Example:

t = {}
t[1] = "goodbye"
t[2] = "adios"
t[4] = "auf"
-- no t[5]
t[6] = "la revedere"
t["8"] = "au revoir"        -- not counted as the key is a string
print("table.maxn(t) is " .. table.maxn(t))
print("#t is " .. #t)
table.maxn(t) is 6
#t is 4

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 949

table:remove(table table, [number position])

Removes the element from the supplied table at the supplied numeric index.

Parameters:

1

table

Table.

2

number

optional, default value=<table_size>

Position within table of element to remove.

Returns:

  1. nil

Example:

t = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
table.remove(t)        -- remove element at the end of the table
table.remove(t, 2)        -- remove second element from the table
print(table.concat(t))
134

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 966

table:sort(table table, [function comparison])

Sorts the elements in the supplied table into a new order. A comparison function may be supplied, which should take two table elements as arguments and return true if the first of these elements should appear in the final sorted order before the second, or false if the opposite is desired. The table is sorted into ascending numerical order by default, which is the equivalent of supplying the sort function function(a, b) return a < b end.

Parameters:

1

table

Table to sort.

2

function

optional, default value=<ascending_sort_order>

Comparison function.

Returns:

  1. nil

Example - Default ascending sort order:

t = {4, 5, 3, 1, 8, 10}
table.sort(t)
print(table.concat(t, " "))
1 3 4 5 8 10

Example - Reverse sort order:

t = {4, 5, 3, 1, 8, 10}
table.sort(t, function(a, b) return a > b end)
print(table.concat(t, " "))
10 8 5 4 3 1

Example - Sorting a table of strings into length order:

t = {"very_long", "short", "longer", "really_really_long"}
table.sort(t, function(a, b) return string.len(a) < string.len(b) end)
print(table.concat(t, "..."))
short...longer...very_long...really_really_long

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 977

table:tostring(table table, boolean for campaign savegame, [number max depth], [number tab level])

Converts a table into a string representation of that table for debug output. Note that this function is not provided with lua but is provided by Total War's script libraries.

Parameters:

1

table

Subject table.

2

boolean

Set to true

3

number

optional, default value=3

Maximum depth. This is the maximum depth of tables-within-tables to which the function will descend. Supply -1 to set no maximum depth, which makes an infinite loop a possibility.

4

number

optional, default value=0

Starting tab level. This number of tabs will be prepended to the start of each new line in the output.

Returns:

  1. string table to string

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1001

table:contains(table table, value value)

Reports if the supplied table contains the supplied value. If the table does contain the supplied value, the corresponding key at which it may be found is returned, otherwise false is returned.

Parameters:

1

table

table

2

value

value

Returns:

  1. value key corresponding to value

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1107

table:is_empty(table table)

Returns whether the supplied table is empty.

Parameters:

1

table

Subject table.

Returns:

  1. boolean is empty

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1126

table:copy(table table)

Returns a deep copy of the supplied table. All subtables are copied. Metatables are not copied. Cyclical references are preserved.

Parameters:

1

table

Subject table

Returns:

  1. table copy

Example - Loading faction script:

This script snippet requires the path to the campaign faction folder, then loads the "faction_script_loader" script file, when the game is created.
my_table = { fruit = "apple", topping = { flavour = "cinnamon" } }
copied_table = table.copy(my_table)
copied_table.fruit = "banana"
copied_table.topping.flavour = "chocolate"
print(my_table.fruit .. " topped with " .. my_table.topping.flavour)
print(copied_table.fruit .. " topped with " .. copied_table.topping.flavour)
apple topped with cinnamon
banana topped with chocolate

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1139

table:mem_address(table object, [boolean leave punctuation])

Returns the memory address portion of the result of calling tostring() with a table argument. The function will fail if the supplied table has a metatable that's write-protected.
If the leave punctuation flag is set then the memory address is supplied back still with its leading colon and space characters.

Parameters:

1

table

object

2

boolean

optional, default value=false

leave punctuation

Returns:

  1. string address string

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1185

table:indexed_to_lookup(table indexed table)

Returns another table containing all records in the supplied indexed table, except with the values set to keys. The values in the returned table will be true for all records.

Parameters:

1

table

indexed table

Returns:

  1. table lookup table

Example:

indexed_t = {"oranges", "apples", "strawberries"}
lookup_t = table.indexed_to_lookup(indexed_t)
for key, value in pairs(lookup_t) do
print(key, value)
end
strawberries    true
oranges            true
apples            true

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1226

table:compile_tables(table table_list, [rules (fully recursive])

Given a list of tables, sorts all tables by an optional load_order and then merges each one onto the previous successively. Can be used to merge and override data tables for mod compatibility.

Parameters:

1

table

The list of tables to be merged, indexed numerically.

2

rules

optional, default value=default rules (fully recursive, allow overrides)

allow overrides)] table merge_rules, A table describing the rules for merging, including recursion_levels and allow_overrides.

Returns:

  1. table Returns the fully compiled table (a new table reference).

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1291

table:merge_tables(table merge_to, table merge_from, table merge_rules, [number recursion_level])

Merge two tables given a set of merge rules, implanting the data from merge_from into merge_to.

Parameters:

1

table

The table to which data will be merged. The return value is this table, following the merge.

2

table

The table from which data will be merged.

3

table

A table describing the rules for merging, including recursion_levels and allow_overrides.

4

number

optional, default value=1

The number of recursions this function call is at, i.e. the number of table layers into the original table that the merge has reached. If unspecified, this begins at 1.

Returns:

  1. table Returns the original merge_to table, but with the contents of merge_from incoorporated into it.

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1320


Userdata

Userdata is an area of memory accessible to lua but created by the host program. In our case, the host program is the game executable. It allows the host program to package up code functionality in a black box that can be used in fixed ways script.

The interface objects supplied to script by the game in campaign and battle are typically userdata. It's not possible for script to meaningfully modify or query userdata objects in ways that weren't specifically set up by the creating code.


Math

The math library provides mathematical functions and values in a table that be called from within lua.

Back to top

Values

The math libraries provides the following constants that can be looked up:

Variables in this section:

These variables may be accessed via <interface>.<variable_name>:

pi number Value of Pi.
huge number The value HUGE_VAL, a value equal to or larger than any other numerical value.
Back to top

Functions

math.abs(number value)

Returns the absolute of the supplied value, converting it to a positive value if negative.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number absolute value

Example:

print(math.abs(-4))
4

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1402

math.acos(number value)

Returns the arc cosine of the supplied value, in radians. The supplied value should be between -1 and 1.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number acos value in radians

Example:

print(math.acos(0.5))
1.0471975511966

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1410

math.asin(number value)

Returns the arc sine of the supplied value, in radians. The supplied value should be between -1 and 1.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number asin value in radians

Example:

print(math.asin(0.5))
0.5235987755983

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1418

math.atan(number value)

Returns the arc tangent of the supplied value, in radians.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number atan value in radians

Example:

print(math.atan2(1))
0.64350110879328

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1426

math.atan2(number opposite, number adjacent)

Returns the arc tangent of the supplied opposite value divided by the supplied adjacent value, in radians. The sign of both arguments is used to find the quadrant of the result.

Parameters:

1

number

opposite

2

number

adjacent

Returns:

  1. number atan value in radians

Example:

print(math.atan2(5, 5))
print(math.atan2(-5, 5))
0.78539816339745
-0.78539816339745

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1434

math.ceil(number value)

Returns the smallest integer that is larger than or equal to the supplied value.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number ceil value

Example:

print(math.ceil(2.2))
3

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1445

math.cos(number value)

Returns the cosine of the supplied radian value.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number cosine value

Example:

print(math.cos(1.0471975511966))
0.5

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1453

math.cosh(number value)

Returns the hyperbolic cosine of the supplied value.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number hyperbolic cosine value

Example:

print(math.cosh(1))
1.5430806348152

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1461

math.deg(number radian value)

Converts the supplied radian value into an angle in degrees. See also math.rad.

Parameters:

1

number

radian value

Returns:

  1. number value in degrees

Example:

print(math.deg(math.pi))
180.0

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1469

math.exp(number exponent)

Returns the numerical constant e to the power of the supplied value. Supply a value of 1 to just return e.

Parameters:

1

number

exponent

Returns:

  1. number e ^ exponent

Example:

print(math.exp(1))
2.718281828459

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1477

math.floor(number value)

Returns the largest integer that is smaller than or equal to the supplied value.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number floor value

Example:

print(math.floor(2.2))
2

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1485

math.fmod(number dividend, number divisor)

Returns remainder of the division of the first supplied value by the second supplied value.

Parameters:

1

number

dividend

2

number

divisor

Returns:

  1. number floor value

Example:

-- 5 * 4 is 20, leaving a remainder of 3 to reach 23
print(math.fmod(23, 5))
3

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1493

math.frexp(number x value)

Returns the values of m and exp in the expression x = m * 2 ^ exp, where x is the value supplied to the function. exp is an integer and the absolute value of the mantissa m is in the range 0.5 - 1 (or zero when x is zero).

Parameters:

1

number

x value

Returns:

  1. number mantissa m value
  2. number exponent e value

Example:

print(math.frexp(10)))
0.625    4

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1503

math.ldexp(number m, number exp)

Returns m * 2 ^ exp, where the mantissa m and exponent exp are values supplied to the function. exp should be an integer value.

Parameters:

1

number

m

2

number

exp

Returns:

  1. number m * 2 ^ exp

Example:

print(math.ldexp(2, 4))
32.0

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1512

math.log(number value)

Returns the natural logarithm of the supplied value.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number log value

Example:

print(math.log(10))
2.302585092994

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1521

math.log10(number value)

Returns the base-10 logarithm of the supplied value.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number log value

Example:

print(math.log(10))
1.0

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1529

math.max(... values)

Returns the maximum numeric value amongst the arguments given.

Parameters:

1

...

Varargs of number values

Returns:

  1. number max value

Example:

print(math.max(12, 10, 14, 3, 8, 13))
14

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1537

math.min(... values)

Returns the minimum numeric value amongst the arguments given.

Parameters:

1

...

Varargs of number values

Returns:

  1. number min value

Example:

print(math.min(12, 10, 14, 3, 8, 13))
3

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1545

math.modf(number input value)

Returns the integral part of the supplied value and the fractional part of the supplied value.

Parameters:

1

number

input value

Returns:

  1. number integral value
  2. number fractional value

Example:

print(math.modf(5))
print(math.modf(5.4))
5    0.0
5    0.4

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1553

math.normalize(number value, [number minimum], [number maximum])

Scales a supplied value to between supplied minimum and maximum values.

Parameters:

1

number

value

2

number

optional, default value=0

minimum

3

number

optional, default value=1

maximum

Returns:

  1. number normalized value

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1564

math.pow(number x, number y)

Returns the first supplied number value to the power of the second supplied number value.

Parameters:

1

number

x

2

number

y

Returns:

  1. number x ^ y

Example:

print(math.pow(2, 4))
16.0

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1577

math.rad(number degree value)

Converts the supplied angle in degrees into an angle in radians. See also math.deg.

Parameters:

1

number

degree value

Returns:

  1. number value in radians

Example:

print(math.rad(180))
3.1415926535898

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1586

math.random([number first limit], [number second limit])

Provides an interface to the pseudo-random number generator provided by ANSI C. This function returns a random number between two optionally-supplied limits. If no arguments are supplied, those limits are 0 and 1. If one argument a is supplied, those limits are 1 and a. If two arguments a and b are supplied then those limits are a and b.
If no arguments are supplied the returned value is real, whereas if any arguments are supplied the returned value is an integer.
Note that use of this function is discouraged, as it will generate different results on different clients in a multiplayer game. Acting upon the result of this function in multiplayer scripts will likely cause desyncs.

Parameters:

1

number

optional, default value=nil

first limit

2

number

optional, default value=nil

second limit

Returns:

  1. number random number

Example:

print(math.random())        -- returned value will be 0..1
print(math.random(10))        -- returned value will be 1..10
print(math.random(5, 10))        -- returned value will be 5..10
0.84018771676347
4
9

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1594

math.randomseed(number seed)

Sets the supplied value as the seed for the random number system.

Parameters:

1

number

seed

Returns:

  1. nil

Example:

math.randomseed(os.clock()))        -- use os clock as random seed

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1609

math.sin(number value)

Returns the sine of the supplied radian value.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number sine value

Example:

print(math.sin(0.5235987755983))
0.5

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1615

math.sinh(number value)

Returns the hyperbolic sine of the supplied value.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number hyperbolic sine value

Example:

print(math.sinh(0.5235987755983))
0.54785347388804

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1623

math.sqrt(number value)

Returns the square root of the supplied value.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number square root value

Example:

print(math.sqrt(4))
2.0

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1631

math.tan(number value)

Returns the tangent of the supplied radian value.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number tan value

Example:

print(math.tan(0.64350110879328))
0.74999999999999

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1639

math.tanh(number value)

Returns the hyperbolic tangent of the supplied value.

Parameters:

1

number

value

Returns:

  1. number hyperbolic tan value

Example:

print(math.tanh(0.64350110879328))
0.56727870240097

defined in ../../Warhammer/working_data/script/_lib/lib_lua_extensions.lua, line 1647

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Other Functionality

Variables in this section:

These variables may be accessed via <interface>.<variable_name>:

pi number Value of Pi.
huge number The value HUGE_VAL, a value equal to or larger than any other numerical value.
Last updated 12/08/2022 11:56:58