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1 <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
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2 <HTML>
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3 <HEAD>
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4 <TITLE>Lua 5.2 readme</TITLE>
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5 <LINK REL="stylesheet" TYPE="text/css" HREF="lua.css">
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20 }
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22 tt, kbd, code {
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23 font-size: 12pt ;
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24 }
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25 </STYLE>
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26 </HEAD>
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27
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28 <BODY>
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29
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30 <HR>
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31 <H1>
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32 <A HREF="http://www.lua.org/"><IMG SRC="logo.gif" ALT="Lua" BORDER=0></A>
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33 Welcome to Lua 5.2
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34 </H1>
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35
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36 <P>
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37 <A HREF="#about">about</A>
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38 ·
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39 <A HREF="#install">installation</A>
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40 ·
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41 <A HREF="#changes">changes</A>
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42 ·
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43 <A HREF="#license">license</A>
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44 ·
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45 <A HREF="contents.html">reference manual</A>
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46
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47 <H2><A NAME="about">About Lua</A></H2>
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48
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49 <P>
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50 Lua is a powerful, fast, lightweight, embeddable scripting language
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51 developed by a
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52 <A HREF="http://www.lua.org/authors.html">team</A>
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53 at
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54 <A HREF="http://www.puc-rio.br/">PUC-Rio</A>,
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55 the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
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56 Lua is
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57 <A HREF="#license">free software</A>
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58 used in many products and projects around the world.
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59
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60 <P>
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61 Lua's
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62 <A HREF="http://www.lua.org/">official web site</A>
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63 provides complete information
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64 about Lua,
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65 including
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66 an
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67 <A HREF="http://www.lua.org/about.html">executive summary</A>
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68 and
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69 updated
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70 <A HREF="http://www.lua.org/docs.html">documentation</A>,
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71 especially the
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72 <A HREF="http://www.lua.org/manual/5.2/">reference manual</A>,
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73 which may differ slightly from the
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74 <A HREF="contents.html">local copy</A>
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75 distributed in this package.
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76
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77 <H2><A NAME="install">Installing Lua</A></H2>
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78
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79 <P>
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80 Lua is distributed in
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81 <A HREF="http://www.lua.org/ftp/">source</A>
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82 form.
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83 You need to build it before using it.
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84 Building Lua should be straightforward
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85 because
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86 Lua is implemented in pure ANSI C and compiles unmodified in all known
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87 platforms that have an ANSI C compiler.
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88 Lua also compiles unmodified as C++.
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89 The instructions given below for building Lua are for Unix-like platforms.
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90 See also
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91 <A HREF="#other">instructions for other systems</A>
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92 and
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93 <A HREF="#customization">customization options</A>.
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94
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95 <P>
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96 If you don't have the time or the inclination to compile Lua yourself,
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97 get a binary from
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98 <A HREF="http://lua-users.org/wiki/LuaBinaries">LuaBinaries</A>.
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99 Try also
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100 <A HREF="http://luaforwindows.luaforge.net/">Lua for Windows</A>,
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101 an easy-to-use distribution of Lua that includes many useful libraries.
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102
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103 <H3>Building Lua</H3>
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104
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105 <P>
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106 In most Unix-like platforms, simply do "<KBD>make</KBD>" with a suitable target.
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107 Here are the details.
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108
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109 <OL>
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110 <LI>
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111 Open a terminal window and move to
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112 the top-level directory, which is named <TT>lua-5.2.1</TT>.
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113 The Makefile there controls both the build process and the installation process.
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114 <P>
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115 <LI>
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116 Do "<KBD>make</KBD>" and see if your platform is listed.
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117 The platforms currently supported are:
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118 <P>
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119 <P CLASS="display">
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120 aix ansi bsd freebsd generic linux macosx mingw posix solaris
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121 </P>
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122 <P>
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123 If your platform is listed, just do "<KBD>make xxx</KBD>", where xxx
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124 is your platform name.
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125 <P>
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126 If your platform is not listed, try the closest one or posix, generic,
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127 ansi, in this order.
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128 <P>
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129 <LI>
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130 The compilation takes only a few moments
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131 and produces three files in the <TT>src</TT> directory:
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132 lua (the interpreter),
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133 luac (the compiler),
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134 and liblua.a (the library).
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135 <P>
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136 <LI>
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137 To check that Lua has been built correctly, do "<KBD>make test</KBD>"
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138 after building Lua. This will run the interpreter and print its version string.
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139 </OL>
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140 <P>
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141 If you're running Linux and get compilation errors,
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142 make sure you have installed the <TT>readline</TT> development package.
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143
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144 <H3>Installing Lua</H3>
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145 <P>
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146 Once you have built Lua, you may want to install it in an official
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147 place in your system. In this case, do "<KBD>make install</KBD>". The official
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148 place and the way to install files are defined in the Makefile. You'll
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149 probably need the right permissions to install files.
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150
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151 <P>
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152 To build and install Lua in one step, do "<KBD>make xxx install</KBD>",
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153 where xxx is your platform name.
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154
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155 <P>
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156 To install Lua locally, do "<KBD>make local</KBD>".
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157 This will create a directory <TT>install</TT> with subdirectories
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158 <TT>bin</TT>, <TT>include</TT>, <TT>lib</TT>, <TT>man</TT>,
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159 and install Lua as listed below.
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160
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161 To install Lua locally, but in some other directory, do
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162 "<KBD>make install INSTALL_TOP=xxx</KBD>", where xxx is your chosen directory.
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163
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164 <DL CLASS="display">
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165 <DT>
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166 bin:
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167 <DD>
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168 lua luac
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169 <DT>
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170 include:
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171 <DD>
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172 lua.h luaconf.h lualib.h lauxlib.h lua.hpp
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173 <DT>
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174 lib:
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175 <DD>
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176 liblua.a
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177 <DT>
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178 man/man1:
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179 <DD>
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180 lua.1 luac.1
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181 </DL>
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182
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183 <P>
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184 These are the only directories you need for development.
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185 If you only want to run Lua programs,
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186 you only need the files in bin and man.
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187 The files in include and lib are needed for
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188 embedding Lua in C or C++ programs.
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189
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190 <H3><A NAME="customization">Customization</A></H3>
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191 <P>
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192 Three kinds of things can be customized by editing a file:
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193 <UL>
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194 <LI> Where and how to install Lua — edit <TT>Makefile</TT>.
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195 <LI> How to build Lua — edit <TT>src/Makefile</TT>.
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196 <LI> Lua features — edit <TT>src/luaconf.h</TT>.
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197 </UL>
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198
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199 <P>
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200 You don't actually need to edit the Makefiles because you may set the
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201 relevant variables in the command line when invoking make.
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202 Nevertheless, it's probably best to edit and save the Makefiles to
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203 record the changes you need.
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204
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205 <P>
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206 On the other hand, if you need to customize some Lua features, you'll need
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207 to edit <TT>src/luaconf.h</TT> before building and installing Lua.
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208 The edited file will be the one installed, and
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209 it will be used by any Lua clients that you build, to ensure consistency.
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210 Further customization is available to experts by editing the Lua sources.
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211
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212 <P>
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213 We strongly recommend that you enable dynamic loading in <TT>src/luaconf.h</TT>.
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214 This is done automatically for all platforms listed above that have
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215 this feature and also for Windows.
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216
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217 <H3><A NAME="other">Building Lua on other systems</A></H3>
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218
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219 <P>
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220 If you're not using the usual Unix tools, then the instructions for
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221 building Lua depend on the compiler you use. You'll need to create
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222 projects (or whatever your compiler uses) for building the library,
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223 the interpreter, and the compiler, as follows:
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224
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225 <DL CLASS="display">
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226 <DT>
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227 library:
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228 <DD>
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229 lapi.c lcode.c lctype.c ldebug.c ldo.c ldump.c lfunc.c lgc.c llex.c
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230 lmem.c lobject.c lopcodes.c lparser.c lstate.c lstring.c ltable.c
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231 ltm.c lundump.c lvm.c lzio.c
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232 lauxlib.c lbaselib.c lbitlib.c lcorolib.c ldblib.c liolib.c
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233 lmathlib.c loslib.c lstrlib.c ltablib.c loadlib.c linit.c
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234 <DT>
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235 interpreter:
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236 <DD>
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237 library, lua.c
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238 <DT>
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239 compiler:
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240 <DD>
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241 library, luac.c
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242 </DL>
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243
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244 <P>
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245 To use Lua as a library in your own programs you'll need to know how to
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246 create and use libraries with your compiler. Moreover, to dynamically load
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247 C libraries for Lua you'll need to know how to create dynamic libraries
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248 and you'll need to make sure that the Lua API functions are accessible to
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249 those dynamic libraries — but <EM>don't</EM> link the Lua library
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250 into each dynamic library. For Unix, we recommend that the Lua library
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251 be linked statically into the host program and its symbols exported for
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252 dynamic linking; <TT>src/Makefile</TT> does this for the Lua interpreter.
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253 For Windows, we recommend that the Lua library be a DLL.
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254
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255 <P>
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256 As mentioned above, you may edit <TT>src/luaconf.h</TT> to customize
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257 some features before building Lua.
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258
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259 <H2><A NAME="changes">Changes since Lua 5.1</A></H2>
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260
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261 <P>
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262 Here are the main changes introduced in Lua 5.2.
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263 The
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264 <A HREF="contents.html">reference manual</A>
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265 lists the
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266 <A HREF="manual.html#8">incompatibilities</A> that had to be introduced.
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267
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268 <H3>Main changes</H3>
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269 <UL>
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270 <LI> yieldable pcall and metamethods
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271 <LI> new lexical scheme for globals
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272 <LI> ephemeron tables
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273 <LI> new library for bitwise operations
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274 <LI> light C functions
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275 <LI> emergency garbage collector
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276 <LI> <CODE>goto</CODE> statement
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277 <LI> finalizers for tables
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278 </UL>
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279
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280 Here are the other changes introduced in Lua 5.2:
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281 <H3>Language</H3>
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282 <UL>
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283 <LI> no more fenv for threads or functions
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284 <LI> tables honor the <CODE>__len</CODE> metamethod
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285 <LI> hex and <CODE>\z</CODE> escapes in strings
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286 <LI> support for hexadecimal floats
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287 <LI> order metamethods work for different types
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288 <LI> no more verification of opcode consistency
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289 <LI> hook event "tail return" replaced by "tail call"
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290 <LI> empty statement
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291 <LI> <CODE>break</CODE> statement may appear in the middle of a block
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292 </UL>
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293
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294 <H3>Libraries</H3>
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295 <UL>
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296 <LI> arguments for function called through <CODE>xpcall</CODE>
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297 <LI> optional 'mode' argument to load and loadfile (to control binary x text)
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298 <LI> optional 'env' argument to load and loadfile (environment for loaded chunk)
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299 <LI> <CODE>loadlib</CODE> may load libraries with global names (RTLD_GLOBAL)
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300 <LI> new function <CODE>package.searchpath</CODE>
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301 <LI> modules receive their paths when loaded
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302 <LI> optional base in <CODE>math.log</CODE>
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303 <LI> optional separator in <CODE>string.rep</CODE>
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304 <LI> <CODE>file:write</CODE> returns <CODE>file</CODE>
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305 <LI> closing a pipe returns exit status
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306 <LI> <CODE>os.exit</CODE> may close state
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307 <LI> new metamethods <CODE>__pairs</CODE> and <CODE>__ipairs</CODE>
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308 <LI> new option 'isrunning' for <CODE>collectgarbage</CODE> and <CODE>lua_gc</CODE>
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309 <LI> frontier patterns
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310 <LI> <CODE>\0</CODE> in patterns
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311 <LI> new option <CODE>*L</CODE> for <CODE>io.read</CODE>
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312 <LI> options for <CODE>io.lines</CODE>
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313 <LI> <CODE>debug.getlocal</CODE> can access function varargs
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314 </UL>
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315
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316 <H3>C API</H3>
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317 <UL>
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318 <LI> main thread predefined in the registry
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319 <LI> new functions
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320 <CODE>lua_absindex</CODE>,
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321 <CODE>lua_arith</CODE>,
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322 <CODE>lua_compare</CODE>,
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323 <CODE>lua_copy</CODE>,
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324 <CODE>lua_len</CODE>,
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325 <CODE>lua_rawgetp</CODE>,
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326 <CODE>lua_rawsetp</CODE>,
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327 <CODE>lua_upvalueid</CODE>,
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328 <CODE>lua_upvaluejoin</CODE>,
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329 <CODE>lua_version</CODE>.
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330 <LI> new functions
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331 <CODE>luaL_checkversion</CODE>,
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332 <CODE>luaL_setmetatable</CODE>,
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333 <CODE>luaL_testudata</CODE>,
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334 <CODE>luaL_tolstring</CODE>.
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335 <LI> <CODE>lua_pushstring</CODE> and <CODE>pushlstring</CODE> return string
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336 <LI> <CODE>nparams</CODE> and <CODE>isvararg</CODE> available in debug API
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337 <LI> new <CODE>lua_Unsigned</CODE>
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338 </UL>
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339
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340 <H3>Implementation</H3>
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341 <UL>
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342 <LI> max constants per function raised to 2<SUP>26</SUP>
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343 <LI> generational mode for garbage collection (experimental)
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344 <LI> NaN trick (experimental)
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345 <LI> internal (immutable) version of ctypes
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346 <LI> simpler implementation for string buffers
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347 <LI> parser uses much less C-stack space (no more auto arrays)
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348 </UL>
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349
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350 <H3>Lua standalone interpreter</H3>
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351 <UL>
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352 <LI> new <CODE>-E</CODE> option to avoid environment variables
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353 <LI> handling of non-string error messages
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354 </UL>
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355
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356 <H2><A NAME="license">License</A></H2>
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357 <A HREF="http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition.php">
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358 <IMG SRC="osi-certified-72x60.png" ALIGN="right" BORDER="0" ALT="[osi certified]" STYLE="padding-left: 30px ;">
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359 </A>
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360
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361 <P>
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362 Lua is free software distributed under the terms of the
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363 <A HREF="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html">MIT license</A>
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364 reproduced below;
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365 it may be used for any purpose, including commercial purposes,
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366 at absolutely no cost without having to ask us.
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367
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368 The only requirement is that if you do use Lua,
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369 then you should give us credit by including the appropriate copyright notice somewhere in your product or its documentation.
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370
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371 For details, see
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372 <A HREF="http://www.lua.org/license.html">this</A>.
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373
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374 <BLOCKQUOTE STYLE="padding-bottom: 0em">
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375 Copyright © 1994–2012 Lua.org, PUC-Rio.
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376
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377 <P>
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378 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
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379 of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
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380 in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
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381 to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
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382 copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
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383 furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
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384
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385 <P>
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386 The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
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387 all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
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388
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389 <P>
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390 THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
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391 IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
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392 FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
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393 AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
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394 LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
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395 OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
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396 THE SOFTWARE.
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397 </BLOCKQUOTE>
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398 <P>
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399
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400 <HR>
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401 <SMALL CLASS="footer">
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402 Last update:
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403 Tue May 29 21:57:51 BRT 2012
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404 </SMALL>
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405 <!--
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406 Last change: revised for Lua 5.2.1
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407 -->
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408
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409 </BODY>
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410 </HTML>
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