Changing a local variable w/ a global function in lua - function

I have two scripts running, and I cannot merge both of the scripts into one. There has to be two running.
Script A is almost completely local but it does call on a global function a few times. These are defined in Script B. I would like to know if it is possible that the function use local variables inside of script A somehow.
It is like this:
--Script A
local lastUpdateID = 308
local var1,var2=6,7
_G.writeDefinition(var1,var2)
--Script B
function _G.writeDefinition(var1,var2)
-- Right here, is it possible that we can alter the
-- variable lastUpdateID? < (This is my question)
end
I have tried looking into getfenv and setfenv but they do not show that the local variable exists. The whole point of this is so that when Script A calls writeDefinition, lastUpdateID is incremented by one. lastUpdateID must remain a local variable, however.
EDIT: Ryan Stein's solution worked, but I have come across another problem later in the scripts.
Now it is like this:
local f_count=1
local function sell_lox()
local sellID=5
_G.writeDefinition(sellID,sellID.." PX_lvs")
end
It is similar to the original problem. From what I can tell, the only thing I can get is the SellID when writeDefinition is called. Is there a way to increment f_count from this when writeDefinition is called?

Considering your circumstances, this will only be possible through the debug library.
function writeDefinition(var1, var2)
local i, k, v = 0
repeat -- Iterate through the calling function's local variables.
i = i + 1
k, v = debug.getlocal(2, i)
until k == 'lastUpdateID'
debug.setlocal(2, i, v + 1) -- Increment lastUpdateID.
end

Related

attempt to index global 'INV' (a nil value) (line:23)

print("cl_inv wurde geladen!")
concommand.Add("inv_model", function(ply)
local wep = ply:GetActiveWeapon()
if not IsValid(wep) then return end
print(wep:GetWeaponWorldModel())
end)
net.Receive("inv_init", function()
LocalPlayer().inv = {}
end)
net.Receive("inv_give", function()
local classname = net.ReadString()
table.insert(LocalPlayer().inv, classname)
end)
function INV.Open()
local ply = LocalPlayer()
local plyinv = ply.inv
if not ply.inv then return end
local scrw, scrh = ScrW(),ScrH()
INV.Menu = vgui.Create("DFrame")
local inv = INV.Menu
inv:SetSize(scrw * .4, scrh * .6)
inv:Center()
inv:SetTitle("")
inv:MakePopup()
inv.Paint = function(me,w,h)
surface.SetDrawColor(0,0,0,200)
surface.DrawRect(0,0,w,h)
end
local scroll = inv:Add("DScrollPanel")
scroll:Dock(FILL)
scroll.panels = {}
for k,v in pairs(plyinv) do
local itemPanel = scroll:Add("DPanel")
itemPanel:Dock(TOP)
scroll.panels[itemPanel] = true
end
end
hook.Add( "OnPlayerChat", "InvOpen", function( ply, strText, bTeam, bDead )
if ( ply != LocalPlayer() ) then return end
if string.lower(strText) != "!inv" then return end
INV.Open()
end )
I already searched the whole internet for a solution, i did found something but it didnt really helped me so what im expecting is that someone may be so nice and can help me solve my problem. In line 23 is the error :attempt to index global 'INV' (a nil value) (line:23)
As I can see, you're using the Garry's Mod Lua API. Although this API adds some features to the basic Lua language (e.g. ! operator for negation, C-style comments //), you still need to use the Lua language properly.
What the error says, is that you're trying to access to a table that isn't defined in the current scope of your program.
I can bet your addon defined some global table to interoperate between files and other addons installed on your machine.
As I don't have that much information on the way you're loading your file, here are multiple guesses on possible solutions:
For a file located inside an autorun folder
If the snippet you gave is under an autorun folder, the issue may be that the INV table does not yet exist when you load your file. To correct that, you can use the GLua Timer's Library.
Here is a simple snippet:
Timer.Simple(0.2, function()
-- put your code here
end
Timer.Simple takes two parameters: first one is a delay, in seconds and the other one is a callback function, executed once the delay has ended !
If you're doing something that requires the server to have loaded some other addons before actually running your script, this might be helpfull.
Accessing Global variables of your environment
As you did not gave that many informations about your problem I have to continue to guess what you're trying to do. An other source of problem is maybe that the INV table simply doesn't exist.
How to get all defined global tables in Lua ?
In Lua, there is the _G table that contains all the data of your current environnement. For more in-depth information, please see the official Lua documentation.
To know if your table does in fact exist in your environment, you can run this snippet on your Lua server:
local function doesINVExist()
for name in pairs(_G) do
if (name == "INV") then return true end
end
return false
end
And then you can simply run it using:
print(doesINVExist())
What to do if the table doesn't exist
If INV isn't present in your environment, then it may be because your Garry's Mod server did not loaded any file that defines such a table. Then what you can do is checking the addon that should dclare that table to see if there are any errors that might make it a nil value.
I hope this can help. Of course my answer could've been much more detailed if I had more information. But as I can't write comments (my rating isn't high enough), here is all I can do for you !
Have a great day,
Pedro.

Local functions calling each other

I have two functions that occasionally call each other, and they are local to a module that uses them to build another function. The module is somewhat similar to this piece of code:
local function iseven(n)
if n == 1 then
return false
else
return isodd(n - 1)
end
end
local function isodd(n)
if n == 1 then
return true
else
return iseven(n - 1)
end
end
local evenOrOdd = function(n)
return iseven(n) and "Even" or "Odd"
end
return evenOrOdd
The problem is, when calling evenOrOdd from another file I get the error attempt to call global 'isodd' (a nil value).
I noticed that this doesn't happen if I set iseven to global, but I would like to keep them local to my module.
I even tried putting a dummy function declaration (local function isodd() end) before the line where iseven is declared. I also tried inserting just local isodd in the place of the dummy function declaration, but in both ways it doesn't work and I get different kind of errors.
I know this is because Lua has closures and when iseven is declared it catches the actual value of isodd, which is either nil or the dummy function, and modifying it after doesn't count, but is there a way to bypass this?
The problem is that the call to isodd in iseven uses a global variable, not the local one defined later.
Use forward declarations, as suggested by #Egor:
local iseven, isodd
function iseven(n)
...
end
function isodd(n)
...
end
...
Another way to get past this problem is to use tables. Plain local variables are probably more efficient, but with tables you dont need to manage the declarations.
local T = {}
local function evenOrOdd(n)
return T.iseven(n) and "Even" or "Odd"
end
function T.iseven(n)
-- code
end
The gist of this is that because the table is defined at the top, everything below it has access to it and you can dynamically change it's contents.
When evenOrOdd is called, T.iseven should already be defined by then even though it was not defined when evenOrOdd was defined.
Better check for num%2 - remainder of the division

Getting all functions in a Lua script

I'm trying to figure out a way to get all functions in a Lua script. This script has been compiled into a function through loadfile. For example, I'd want to get every function defined in the script below.
function example1()
end
local function example2()
end
local library = {}
function library:example3()
end
(function()
-- Functions like this too.
end)
The names aren't important, I'm just looking for a way to get the actual functions so I can use them in debug.getinfo and get information like the lines they were defined in. I have LuaJIT, if that makes this any easier. Is something like this even possible? Thanks in advance.
I guess the file declares its functions as global, or it would be really easy to track what is returned.
If that's the case, you can cycle through all the global items with a generic for loop, and only take the functions from them:
allFuncs = {}
for key, item in pairs(_G) do
if type(item) == "function" then
allFuncs[#allFuncs + 1] = item
end
end
(_G is the table holding all the global variables)
Then you will have a list (allFuncs) holding all the functions declared, but be aware that it will also contain default functions like setmetatable or xpcall.
It's easy to modify the code to not make this happen, but only use this for testing / learning:
function allFuncs()
local funcsTab = {}
for key, item in pairs(_G) do
if type(item) == "function" then
funcsTab[#funcsTab + 1] = item
end
end
return funcsTab
end
defaultFuncs = allFuncs()
--then you load your file: other functions get declared
--we create another table containg the default + the new functions
myFuncs = allFuncs()
--then you subtract the first table from the second
for i = 1, #myFuncs do
for o = 1, #defaultFuncs do
if myFuncs[i] == defaultFuncs[o] then
table.remove(myFuncs, i)
end
end
end
This is if your file doesn't return anything and declares its functions as globals.
If the file declares them as local and then returns a table containing them, just use the first piece of code replacing _G with that returned table.
This is not likely to be possible without syntax or bytecode analysis as each function definition is an assignment (just has different forms in your examples). See the bytecode inspector and a related discussion here. For the syntax analysis you can use metalua or something like lua-loose-parser. Keep in mind that even those tools won't give you the entire list of functions as some functions may be defined dynamically using loadstring (or similar methods).
If you only have access to the result of loadfile, then you best bet is to use the bytecode analyzer.
This is possible using jit.attach in LuaJIT.
You can attach callbacks to a number of compiler events with
jit.attach. The callback can be called:
when a function has been compiled to bytecode ("bc");
when trace recording starts or stops ("trace");
as a trace is being recorded ("record");
or when a trace exits through a side exit ("texit").
http://wiki.luajit.org/JIT-Compiler-API#jit-attach
jit.attach(function(f)
local funcInfo = jit.util.funcinfo(f)
end, "bc")

Lua "require" with global "local"?

Clearly I have some mixed up, but I figured that by using something like this in "main.lua":
local module = require("module")
local var = "I should be global?"
printthis()
with module.lua containing something like:
function printthis()
print(var)
end
that printthis(var) would work fine, because now the module.lua code is inside main.lua, no? Instead, printthis has no idea what var is. I read it's good practice to use "local" on Lua variables when possible, but in this case, do I have to make var global or is there a way for module.lua's printthis() function to read var properly?
No. That's not at all how it works.
The Lua interpreter provides one global table, referred to as _G normally, unless you're doing something kinky.
function printthis()
print(var)
end
This translates to, in reality
_G.printthis = function()
_G.print(_G.var);
end
And your code in main is equal to
local module = _G.require("module")
local var = "I should be global?"
_G.printthis()
But when you call printthis- where did _G.var get set? Nowhere. So the variable is nil, like all other accesses to a table where there is nothing at that key.
It might be inconvenient, but it's a much better idea in the long run to pass arguments than to set global variables instead. Once you come to change anything about the program, it's going to be completely impossible to make any changes, as the logic has no structure and you have no idea what happens where without reading every single line of code and understanding it at once. In addition, you can only use each key in one place, because it's a global table- so I sure hope nobody else wanted to use "var" as a variable name and you don't mind your code silently failing because you got a global name wrong.
The other two answers gloss over an important thing: lexical scoping.
This means, roughly, that code can access local variables that are defined where the code is defined. That probably sounds vague, so I'll give an example:
local cheese = 'sandwich'
print(cheese) -- prints sandwich
do -- this begins an anonymous block
local cheese = 22
print(cheese) -- prints 22
end
print(cheese) -- prints sandwich
So what we have here is two different variables: the outer one is "shadowed" by the inner one.
Now, onto functions:
do
local hotdog = 'hot'
function nonsense()
print(hotdog)
end
end
print(hotdog) -- prints nil, since there is no variable called hotdog here
nonsense() -- prints hot
Functions can see the local variables from where they are defined, not from where they are called. This is very important and very useful, once you get the hang of it.
I'm no expert in lua, but shouldn't var be passed as variable. Something like this:
function printthis(var)
print(var)
end
You're missing your var in function header. And you're passing your var in main.lua as an argument to printthis() function.

Accessing the Body of a Function with Lua

I'm going back to the basics here but in Lua, you can define a table like so:
myTable = {}
myTable [1] = 12
Printing the table reference itself brings back a pointer to it. To access its elements you need to specify an index (i.e. exactly like you would an array)
print(myTable ) --prints pointer
print(myTable[1]) --prints 12
Now functions are a different story. You can define and print a function like so:
myFunc = function() local x = 14 end --Defined function
print(myFunc) --Printed pointer to function
Is there a way to access the body of a defined function. I am trying to put together a small code visualizer and would like to 'seed' a given function with special functions/variables to allow a visualizer to 'hook' itself into the code, I would need to be able to redefine the function either from a variable or a string.
There is no way to get access to body source code of given function in plain Lua. Source code is thrown away after compilation to byte-code.
Note BTW that function may be defined in run-time with loadstring-like facility.
Partial solutions are possible — depending on what you actually want to achieve.
You may get source code position from the debug library — if debug library is enabled and debug symbols are not stripped from the bytecode. After that you may load actual source file and extract code from there.
You may decorate functions you're interested in manually with required metadata. Note that functions in Lua are valid table keys, so you may create a function-to-metadata table. You would want to make this table weak-keyed, so it would not prevent functions from being collected by GC.
If you would need a solution for analyzing Lua code, take a look at Metalua.
Check out Lua Introspective Facilities in the debugging library.
The main introspective function in the
debug library is the debug.getinfo
function. Its first parameter may be a
function or a stack level. When you
call debug.getinfo(foo) for some
function foo, you get a table with
some data about that function. The
table may have the following fields:
The field you would want is func I think.
Using the debug library is your only bet. Using that, you can get either the string (if the function is defined in a chunk that was loaded with 'loadstring') or the name of the file in which the function was defined; together with the line-numbers at which the function definition starts and ends. See the documentation.
Here at my current job we have patched Lua so that it even gives you the column numbers for the start and end of the function, so you can get the function source using that. The patch is not very difficult to reproduce, but I don't think I'll be allowed to post it here :-(
You could accomplish this by creating an environment for each function (see setfenv) and using global (versus local) variables. Variables created in the function would then appear in the environment table after the function is executed.
env = {}
myFunc = function() x = 14 end
setfenv(myFunc, env)
myFunc()
print(myFunc) -- prints pointer
print(env.x) -- prints 14
Alternatively, you could make use of the Debug Library:
> myFunc = function() local x = 14 ; debug.debug() end
> myFunc()
> lua_debug> _, x = debug.getlocal(3, 1)
> lua_debug> print(x) -- prints 14
It would probably be more useful to you to retrieve the local variables with a hook function instead of explicitly entering debug mode (i.e. adding the debug.debug() call)
There is also a Debug Interface in the Lua C API.