Question 1

How to install lua-parser with LPegLabel?

Accepted Answer

You need Lua >=5.1 and LPegLabel >=1.6.0 installed first. Then, clone the GitHub repository or use LuaRocks if available—check the project's README for specific setup steps, as it doesn't provide pre-packaged installers.

Question 2

lua-parser vs standard Lua parser: which is better for error messages?

Accepted Answer

lua-parser is superior for error messages because it uses LPegLabel to provide contextual and specific syntax errors, while the standard Lua parser often gives generic errors. This makes lua-parser ideal for tools like linters or IDEs.

Question 3

Can lua-parser handle Lua 5.4 code?

Accepted Answer

No, lua-parser is designed specifically for Lua 5.3 and may fail or produce incorrect ASTs for Lua 5.4 code due to syntax differences, such as new features or changes in the language.

Question 4

How to use lua-parser to build a Lua linter?

Accepted Answer

Parse the Lua source code with lua-parser to get the AST, then traverse the tree to apply custom rules for static analysis. The detailed error messages can be integrated directly into linter output for better debugging.

Question 5

Is lua-parser compatible with LuaJIT?

Accepted Answer

It may work with LuaJIT if using Lua 5.1 compatibility mode, but since LuaJIT is based on Lua 5.1/5.2, some Lua 5.3-specific features in the parsed code might not be supported or could cause issues.

Question 6

How to pretty print an AST with lua-parser?

Accepted Answer

Use the 'lua-parser.pp' module: after parsing, call 'pp.print(ast)' to output the AST as a string, or 'pp.tostring(ast)' to get the string representation for further processing, as shown in the README examples.

lua-parser

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