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Lua OOP

Think of Lua OOP like this:

  • class = table of methods
  • object = table of data
  • inheritance = metatable chain
  • self = explicit first parameter, usually passed by :

Simple demo

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local Counter = {}
Counter.__index = Counter

function Counter:new()
    local obj = {value = 0}
    return setmetatable(obj, Counter)
end

function Counter:inc()
    self.value = self.value + 1
end

function Counter:get()
    return self.value
end

local c = Counter:new()
c:inc()
c:inc()

print(c:get())   -- 2