Lua Alternatives

Lua is described as *'powerful, fast, lightweight, embeddable scripting language.

Lua combines simple procedural syntax with powerful data description constructs based on associative arrays and extensible semantics. Lua is dynamically typed, runs by interpreting bytecode for a register-based'* and is a very popular programming language in the development category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Lua for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, BSD and Haiku. The best alternative is Python, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Lua are JavaScript, PHP, C (programming language) and Go (Programming Language).

Lua alternatives are mainly Programming Languages but may also be Game Development Tools. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Lua.

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Lua

164

Free • Open Source
Programming Language

Mac
Windows
Linux
Android
iPhone
Android Tablet
BSD
iPad
Android Wear
Haiku
AmigaOS
Playstation
MorphOS

Lua is a powerful, fast, lightweight, embeddable scripting language.

Lua combines simple procedural syntax with powerful...

Learn more about Lua

Python
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
Symbian S60
BSD
AROS
Haiku
AmigaOS
OpenSolaris
MorphOS
78 alternatives to Python
Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented, extensible programming language. It provides an extraordinary combination of clarity and versatility, and is free and comprehensively ported.
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Python Features
1. LightweightPython consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Support for scriptingPython supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
3. PortablePython can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
High Level
Object-oriented Language
Modular System
Dynamic typing
Garbage Collection
Interpreted language
Rad
JavaScript
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
Online
Android
iPhone
Chrome OS
BSD
iPad
AROS
Haiku
60 alternatives to JavaScript
JavaScript (sometimes shortened to JS) is a lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented language with first-class functions, most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but also used in many non-browser environments.
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JavaScript Features
1. Support for scriptingJavaScript supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
2. LightweightJavaScript consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
3. PortableJavaScript can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Asynchronous
Interpreted language
Multiplatform
Dynamic typing
Programmers Documentation
Extensibility
Prototype-based inheritance
PHP
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
PHP
37 alternatives to PHP
PHP is a widely-used general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for Web development and can be embedded into HTML.
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PHP Features
1. PortablePHP can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
2. LightweightPHP consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Object-oriented Language
PHP vs Lua opinions
pros, cons and recent comments
superluminar
PHP is mainly used for web applications, which is not the area where Lua shines.
Negative comment•
5
C (programming language)
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
Android
iPhone
Android Tablet
BSD
iPad
AROS
Android Wear
Haiku
Playstation
52 alternatives to C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language. C is one of the most widely used programming languages of all time.
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C (programming language) Features
Systems programming
Works at kernel level
Compiled Language
Manual memory management
Inline assembly
C (programming language) vs Lua opinions
solarwatercodes
Lua can be embedded in C and Lua is as fast as C
Positive comment•
0

superluminar
C works well for entirely different use cases than Lua.
Negative comment•
4
Go (Programming Language)
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
52 alternatives to Go (Programming Language)
Go, also called golang, is a programming language initially developed at Google in 2007 by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson. It is a statically-typed language with syntax loosely derived from that of C, adding automatic memory management, type safety, some...
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Go (Programming Language) Features
1. Support for scriptingGo (Programming Language) supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
2. LightweightGo (Programming Language) consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Compiled Language
Object-oriented Language
Test case management
Class inheritance
Readability
Performance Monitoring
C#
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
63 alternatives to C#
C# is a multi-paradigm programming language encompassing strong typing, imperative, declarative, functional, generic, object-oriented (class-based), and component-oriented programming disciplines.
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C# Features
Compiled Language
Object-oriented Language
Ruby
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Haiku
67 alternatives to Ruby
Ruby is a dynamic, reflective, general purpose object-oriented programming language that combines syntax inspired by Perl with Smalltalk-like features. Ruby originated in Japan during the mid-1990s and was initially developed and designed by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto.
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Ruby Features
Blocks
Dynamic typing
Object-oriented Language
Text processing
Interpreter
Native extension libraries
Perl
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Haiku
64 alternatives to Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language with over 22 years of development.
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Perl Features
Shell integration
Text processing
Add a screenshot
Haskell
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
53 alternatives to Haskell
Haskell is an advanced purely-functional programming language. An open-source product of more than twenty years of cutting-edge research, it allows rapid development of robust, concise, correct software.
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Haskell Features
1. LightweightHaskell consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Support for scriptingHaskell supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
Functional Language
Tail Call Optimization
Static typing
Kotlin
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Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Programming Language
Mac
Windows
Linux
Online
46 alternatives to Kotlin
Kotlin is a cross-platform, statically typed, general-purpose programming language with type inference. Kotlin is designed to interoperate fully with Java, and the JVM version of its standard library depends on the Java Class Library, but type inference allows its syntax to be...
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Kotlin Features
Object-oriented Language
Rad
Interpreter