Lua is so underrated

Lua as Embedded / Scripting Language

• Widely used as an embedded scripting language in games, editors, calculators, Redis, HAProxy, Neovim, OBS, etc.
• Praised for tiny runtime, easy C/C++ integration, and suitability for constrained environments (microcontrollers, old consoles, small binaries).
• Several report very productive experiences building game logic, GUIs, automation, and scientific tools; quick iteration is a key benefit.
• Others find embedding painful: stack manipulation is error‑prone, memory leaks are easy, and the API feels low‑level and “assembly‑like” unless wrapped.

Language Design & Ergonomics

• Fans like the small, orthogonal core: tables + closures + coroutines; easy to make DSLs and custom OO patterns.
• Common complaints:
  • 1‑based indexing; nil‑terminated “arrays”; tables conflating arrays, maps, and objects; footguns with nil and #.
  • Globals by default; lack of continue, switch, structured error handling (try/catch); minimal standard library.
• Some see this minimalism as elegant and empowering; others see it as “hostile” and requiring each project to reinvent basic abstractions.

Performance & Implementation

• Vanilla Lua is generally fast for a high‑level language but slower than modern V8 in benchmarks; newer Lua versions may be slower than older ones.
• LuaJIT is repeatedly described as extremely fast, with an exceptional FFI that makes C interop easy, but it’s less portable and not evolving quickly.
• Several note that for embedded scripting, “fast enough” plus small footprint matters more than beating JS JITs.

Tooling, Types, and Ecosystem

• Lack of batteries and smaller ecosystem vs Python/JS is a recurring concern.
• LuaLS + LuaCATS annotations give LSP/type‑like support; some use TypeScript‑to‑Lua to get types and nicer tooling.
• Dynamic typing and weak invariants are criticized; others argue tests and discipline suffice.

Alternatives and Successors

• JavaScript (QuickJS, Duktape, XS) is frequently proposed as a better default embedded language due to ubiquity and ecosystem.
• Luau (Roblox), Fennel, Janet, FixScript, Terra, and WebAssembly‑based plugin models are discussed as directions with better typing, performance, or ergonomics.
• Some argue Lua is “correctly rated” or even overrated: unbeatable for embeddability, but rarely the best general‑purpose choice.