Check Your Lua
Write clear, expressive assertions using Check Your Lua, a small unit testing library developed for this book.
Learn Lua With TDD
A hands-on, test-first guide to writing clean Lua.
Why Learn Lua with TDD?
Section titled “Why Learn Lua with TDD?”Lua is a beautifully minimal language, making it highly extensible but also easy to misuse. This project bridges that gap.
By writing tests before you write implementation code, you build an understanding of Lua’s syntax while internalizing important software engineering practices.
Featured Concepts
Section titled “Featured Concepts”LuaUnit Ecosystem
Learn to navigate classic xUnit testing patterns with LuaUnit, the most widely utilized testing framework in the Lua community.
Red, Green, Refactor
Internalize the core TDD cycle. Write a failing test, write the minimal code to pass, and refactor with total safety.
Core Language Mechanics
Demystify Lua’s distinct features: tables, metatables, closures, lexical scoping, and coroutines. Done entirely through functional test suites.
The Philosophy Behind This Guide
Section titled “The Philosophy Behind This Guide”Traditional learning resources usually fail software teams in one of two ways:
- They demand dense textbook reading
- They rely on isolated logic puzzles (katas) that don’t scale
A Functional Approach
Section titled “A Functional Approach”The most effective way to master a technical language is through interactive mechanics.
This guide approaches programming where you learn by doing.
You will:
- Isolate concepts into small, digestible milestones.
- Verify assumptions immediately inside an isolated test environment.
- Document features implicitly through the code assertions you write.
Lua code can become terse with its metatable approach and the limited amount of data types. By writing tests first, you ensure your code is correct.
Who This Is For
Section titled “Who This Is For”- Lua Newcomers: Developers looking to learn the language mechanics through a structured, highly disciplined approach.
- Experienced Devs: Programmers who know basic Lua syntax but want to transition to a professional, test-first design workflow.
Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”- A local development machine with Lua (5.5+) installed.
- A terminal environment and your preferred text editor (VS Code, Neovim, etc).
- Basic programming foundations (loops, conditional blocks, functions, and variables).
About the Author & Publisher
Section titled “About the Author & Publisher”This guide is developed for free by Nick Stambaugh and published by Luniv Technology, an independent software engineering studio.
If you find this resource valuable, consider contributing to the project:
- Buy Me a Coffee
- Open Source: Submit issues, suggestions, or pull requests over at the GitHub.
- Attribution: This project’s architecture is inspired by the exceptional layout pioneered by @quii’s ‘Learn Go with Tests’.
License: Distributed under the MIT License!
Get Started! Learn how to get started with Lua and TDD.