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SIMPLOO

Simple Lua Object Orientation - A library that brings class-based object-oriented programming to Lua.

What is SIMPLOO?

Lua is a prototype-based language, which makes traditional OOP patterns like inheritance and encapsulation difficult to implement. SIMPLOO provides a familiar class syntax that handles all the complexity for you.

Features

  • Class definitions with a clean, readable syntax
  • Access modifiers - public, private, static, const, and more
  • Multiple inheritance - extend from one or more parent classes
  • Constructors and finalizers - __construct and __finalize lifecycle methods
  • Metamethods - define __tostring, __call, __add, and others
  • Namespaces - organize classes with namespace and using
  • Serialization - save and restore instance state
  • Two syntax styles - choose what fits your coding style

Quick Example

SIMPLOO supports two syntax styles. Use whichever you prefer:

dofile("simploo.lua")

class "Player" {
    name = "Unknown";
    health = 100;

    __construct = function(self, playerName)
        self.name = playerName
    end;

    takeDamage = function(self, amount)
        self.health = self.health - amount
        print(self.name .. " has " .. self.health .. " health")
    end;
}

local player = Player.new("Alice")
player:takeDamage(25)  -- Alice has 75 health

dofile("simploo.lua")

local player = class("Player")
player.name = "Unknown"
player.health = 100

function player:__construct(playerName)
    self.name = playerName
end

function player:takeDamage(amount)
    self.health = self.health - amount
    print(self.name .. " has " .. self.health .. " health")
end

player:register()

local p = Player.new("Alice")
p:takeDamage(25)  -- Alice has 75 health

Requirements

  • Lua 5.1, Lua 5.2, or LuaJIT
  • For Lua 5.2: the debug library is required for the using keyword

Next Steps