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programming/lua/classes: prose version

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it's much more readable is it not
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title = "Classes in Lua"
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While reading Lua, you may have stumbled upon something that looks like this:
```lua
-- Declare a base `Entity` class...
local Entity = Object:inherit()
function Entity:tick() end
function Entity:draw() end
-- and an inheriting `Player` class.
local Player = Entity:inherit()
```
This is the way prople generally approach object-oriented programming in the language.
For someone coming from a language like Java, where classes are a syncactic construct---`class Cat extends Animal`---it can feel weird to see them handled this way---as local variables, using regular functions to implement inheritance.
But worry not!
This tutorial will hopefully clear up any confusion you might have, using beginner-friendly language, and simple examples.
## Metatables
Before we start, we need to talk about *metatables*.
These are Lua's way of allowing you to _overload operators_.
Consider an operation like `+`:
```lua
print(1 + 2) --> 3
```
The `+` operator, by default, performs arithmetic addition.
However, with metatables, we can _overload_ its meaning for when it's used with our own table on the left.
```lua
local v = { x = 1, y = 2 }
setmetatable(v, {
__add = function (t, u)
return t.x + t.y + u
end,
})
print(v + 3) --> 6
```
Overloadable operators in Lua include not only your usual arithmetic `+`, `-`, `*`, `/`, but also things like indexing tables `a[b]`, creating new indices in tables `a[b] = c`, or function calls `a(b, c, d)`.
Each operator has a special name in the metatable, and each operator's name is prefixed with `__`, to signal that it's special.
### `__index`
Today, we'll be focusing on `__index`, because it's arguably the most important of them all.
It allows us to specify what should be done when the `a[b]` indexing operator _fails_ (is about to return `nil`.)
Consider this example.
```lua
local t = { a = 1 }
print(t.b) --> nil
```
In this case, `t` does not have a key `"b"`, and `t` has no metatable with `__index`, so `nil` is returned.
So let's try adding that `__index` function, to tell Lua what to do instead.
```lua
local fallback = { b = 2 }
setmetatable(t, {
-- The first argument is the table that's indexed,
-- and the second argument is the index.
-- i.e. the arguments map to `the_table[index]`.
__index = function (the_table, index)
return fallback[index]
end,
})
print(t.b) --> 2
```
Our function is called, it looks in `fallback` to figure out what to return instead, and indeed---`2` is returned instead of `nil`!
However, `__index` is special---it does not have to be set to a function.
We can also set it to a table, as a shorthand for the above form.
```lua
setmetatable(t, {
__index = fallback,
})
print(t.b) --> 2
```
This way of doing things avoids a lot of typing, as well as an extra memory allocation coming from that local function---which can get costly if you run it many times in a game loop!
## Method call syntax
There is one thing we need to get out of the way before we move on, and that is Lua's _method call syntax_ `a:method(b)`.
This syntax is equivalent to the following.
```lua
a.method(a, b)
```
Basically, the thing before the colon `:` is passed as the first argument to the thing before `:`'s `method` function.
Lua also has a syntax sugar for declaring functions on tables:
```lua
local t = {}
function t.do_stuff()
print("hi")
end
-- equivalent to:
t.do_stuff = function ()
print("hi")
end
```
So to complement the `:` method call syntax, there's also the `:` function declaration syntax, which inserts a `self` parameter before all the other ones.
```lua
function t:do_thing()
self.aaa = 1
end
-- equivalent to:
function t.do_thing(self)
self.aaa = 1
end
```
The call and declaration syntaxes are not tied together in any way, so you can call `:`-defined functions with `.` and vice versa, but it's probably better not to.
Bear in mind that your function definitions also serve the purpose of documentation, and using the `:` syntax in definitions suggests that the way your function is supposed to be called is through the `:` operator.
With that knowledge, we can more on to modelling classes.
## Classes
We can use the `__index` fallback operator to model classes quite easily.
Let's create a class `Cat`, with two functions `meow` and `feed`.
```lua
local Cat = {}
function Cat:meow()
print("meow")
end
function Cat:feed()
self.food = self.food + 1
end
```
We will also need a function for creating cats, which we'll name `new`.
```lua
function Cat:new()
local cat = {}
cat.food = 10
return cat
end
```
We can now use the API like so:
```lua
local kitty = Cat:new()
Cat.meow(kitty)
Cat.feed(kitty)
print(kitty.food) --> 11
```
However, note how we have to namespace the `Cat` functions explicitly, and we cannot use the `:` method call operator yet.
The table returned by `Cat:new()` does not have the functions `meow` and `feed` for that to work.
So to provide it with these functions, we can use our handy `__index` metamethod.
```lua
function Cat:new()
local cat = {}
cat.food = 10
-- setmetatable returns its first argument. How convenient!
return setmetatable(cat, { __index = Cat })
end
```
Now, we're able to create cats that can meow on their own.
```lua
kitty = Cat:new()
kitty:meow()
kitty:feed()
print(kitty.food) --> 11
```
However, creating an extra metatable every single time we create a cat is pretty inefficient!
We can exploit the fact that Lua doesn't really care about metatable fields it doesn't know about, and make `Cat` itself into a metatable.
```lua
Cat.__index = Cat
function Cat:new()
local cat = {}
cat.food = 10
return setmetatable(cat, Cat)
end
```
But note how we've declared `Cat:new` with the special method syntax.
We call the function like `Cat:new()`, which is equivalent to `Cat.new(Cat)`, which means that the implicit `self` parameter _is_ the `Cat` table already!
Thus, we can simplify the call to `setmetatable`, to remove the redundant reference to `Cat`.
```lua
return setmetatable(cat, self)
```
With all these improvements, here's how the code looks so far.
```lua
local Cat = {}
Cat.__index = Cat
function Cat:new()
local cat = {}
cat.food = 10
return setmetatable(cat, self)
end
function Cat:meow()
print("meow!")
end
function Cat:feed()
self.food = self.food + 1
end
```
## Inheritance
Given this fairly simple way of creating classes, we can now expand this idea to inheritance.
Conceptually, inheriting froma class is pretty straightforward: what we want to do, is to have all of the parent class's methods available on the child class.
I think you might see where this is going now: all we need to do to create a subclass, is to create a new class, whose metatable's `__index` points to the parent class.
Let's rewrite our example with the kitty to generalise animals under a single class.
- class `Animal`, abstract
- variable `food`: integer
- function `speak()`
- function `feed()`
- class `Cat`, extends `Animal`
- function `speak()`
Starting with the base `Animal` class...
```lua
local Animal = {}
Animal.__index = Animal
-- We don't create a `new` method, because we don't want people
-- creating "generic" animals. This makes our class _abstract_.
-- speak() is a function that must be overridden by all subclasses,
-- so we make it error by default when called.
function Animal:speak() error("not implemented") end
function Animal:feed()
self.food = self.food + 1
end
```
We can define `Cat` to be a subclass of `Animal`, and have it inherit `Animal`'s keys, by using `__index`.
```lua
local Cat = {}
-- We still need to override __index, so that the metatable
-- we set in our own constructor has our overridden `speak()` method.
Cat.__index = Cat
-- To be able to call `Animal` methods from `Cat`, we set it
-- as its metatable. Remember that `Animal.__index == Animal`.
setmetatable(Cat, Animal)
function Cat:new()
-- Ultra-shorthand way of initializing a class instance!
-- No need to declare any temporary locals, we can pass
-- the table into `setmetatable` right away, and it will
-- return back the table we passed to it.
return setmetatable({
food = 1,
}, self)
end
-- Don't forget to override speak(), otherwise calling it
-- will error out!
function Cat:speak()
print("meow")
end
```
Note now how declaring `speak` _does not modify `Animal`_.
For that, we would need to set the `__newindex` metamethod on the `Animal`, not just `__index`.
Now we can create instances of `Cat`, and it will inherit the `feed` method from `Animal`.
```lua
local kitty = Cat:new()
kitty:speak()
kitty:feed() -- inherited!
print(kitty.food) --> 2
```
## Packing it up into a nice box
With all this, we are now ready to pack this subclassing functionality into a nicer package.
Speaking of package, let's create a module `class.lua`.
```lua
local Class = {}
Class.__index = Class
return Class
```
Now, let's create a function for inheriting from the class.
```lua
-- insert above `return Class`
function Class:inherit()
local Subclass = {}
Subclass.__index = Subclass
-- Note how `self` in this instance is the parent class,
-- as we call the function like `SomeClass:inherit()`.
setmetatable(Subclass, self)
return subclass
end
```
This is going to let us cleanly inherit from classes, without needing to copy and paste all the `__index` and `setmetatable` boilerplate into all subclasses.
```lua
local Class = require "class"
local Sub = Class:inherit()
```
The other boilerplatey bit was initialisation, so let's take care of that.
```lua
-- insert below the `end` of `function Class:inherit()`
-- By default, let's make the base `Class` impossible to instantiate.
-- This should catch bugs if a subclass forgets to override `initialize`.
function Class:initialize()
error("this class cannot be initialized")
end
-- `...` is Lua's notation for collecting a variable number of arguments
function Class:new(...)
local instance = {}
-- `self` is the class we're instantiating, as this function
-- is called like `MyClass:new()`
setmetatable(instance, self)
-- We pass the instance to the class's `initialize()` method,
-- along with all the arguments we received in `new()`.
self.initialize(instance, ...)
return instance
end
```
Having that, we can now rewrite our `Animal` example to use our super simple class library.
```lua
local Class = require "class"
---
local Animal = Class:inherit()
-- We'll provide a convenience function for implementers,
-- for initialising the food value, as well as any other
-- base fields that may come up.
function Animal:_initialize()
self.food = 1
end
-- However, we do not want to override initialize(), as
-- that would make our class concrete rather than abstract!
-- Remember that we don't want to make it possible to create
-- Animal instances on their own.
function Animal:speak()
error("unimplemented")
end
function Animal:feed()
self.food = self.food + 1
end
---
local Cat = Animal:inherit()
-- Instead, we override initialize() in Cat.
function Cat:initialize()
self:_initialize()
end
function Cat:speak()
print("meow")
end
```
Having a class library like this makes things a lot more convenient, as we no longer have to mess with raw metatables!
All we need to do is call `inherit()` and `new()`, and the magic is done for us.
```lua
local kitty = Cat:new()
kitty:speak()
kitty:feed()
print(kitty.food)
```
## Wrapping up
If you followed this tutorial from beginning to end, you now have a simple library for object-oriented programming in Lua, which supports creating classes and inheriting from them.
To further your understanding, you may want to think about the following:
- How would you call the superclass's implementation of a function overridden by the subclass?
Can you think of ways to make it convenient and easy to remember?
- Our class library implements a Ruby-style `Object:new(args)` function for constructing new instances of our class.
Python, however, uses the syntax `Object(args)` for constructing instances of objects.
Can you think of a way to make your class library use the Python-style syntax?
- Define a 2D vector class using our class library.
Can you think of a way to make use of Lua's native `+`, `-`, `*`, `/` math operators, instead of named functions like `:add()`, `:sub()`, `:mul()`, `:div()`?
- Try implementing an `object:instanceof(Class)` function, which checks that an object instance inherits from a given class.
- Lua is a minimalistic, multi-paradigm language.
Can you think of the benefits and drawbacks towards doing object-oriented programming in Lua?
- What are some problems for which this style of programming would lend itself as particularly good?
- and likewise, what are some areas in which this style might not work so well?
## Further reading
You may wanna check these links out for additional reference.
- [The Lua documentation on metatables](https://www.lua.org/manual/5.4/manual.html#2.4)---there's lots of other operators you can overload!
- [rxi's `classic` module](https://github.com/rxi/classic/blob/master/classic.lua)---it's an example of a good, but small class library that has all the features you'd ever need.

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