* What is Lua?
  Lua is a simple, yet powerful, language for extending applications.
  Lua has been developed by TeCGraf, the Computer Graphics Technology Group
  of PUC-Rio, the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
  Dozens of industrial products developed by TeCGraf use Lua.

* Some features of Lua
  + a simple, pascal-like, syntax;
  + powerful data description constructs (e.g., associative arrays);
  + user-controlled type constructors;
  + fallbacks for extending the meaning of the language in unconventional ways;
  + Lua programs are compiled into bytecodes, which are then interpreted to
    simulate a virtual machine;
  + portable, written in ANSI C.

* Availability
  ftp://ftp.icad.puc-rio.br/pub/lua/lua-2.1.tar.gz
  http://www.inf.puc-rio.br/projetos/roberto/lua.html

* Changes since version 1.1 (current version is 2.1)
  + object-oriented support;
  + fallbacks;
  + simplified syntax for tables;
  + many internal improvements.

* Installing
  To make, simply type domake.
  If make succeeds, you get an interpreter in ./bin/lua.
  The libraries are in ./lib.  The include files are in ./include.
  You don't need the other directories for development.
  There is a reference manual in ./doc and tests in ./test.
  This distribution is biased towards SunOS 4 with gcc but it is simple to
  change the Makefiles for other systems.
  If you are running SunOs, type also "domake dynamic" to build shared
  libraries in ./lib.

* Legal matters
  Lua is now freely available for both academic and commercial purposes.
  Lua is not in the public domain; TeCGraf keeps its copyright.

* Contacting the authors
  Send your comments, bug reports and anything else to lhf@icad.puc-rio.br.
  Please send me email if you download Lua so that we can know how far it goes.

--
Luiz Henrique de Figueiredo                       email: lhf@icad.puc-rio.br
TeCGraf-Grupo de Tecnologia em Computacao Grafica, Dep. Informatica, PUC-Rio
Rua Marques de Sao Vicente 225                        voice: +55 21 529-9424
22453-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil                    fax: +55 21 511-5645
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