Beginning Lua with World of Warcraft Add-ons

Beginning Lua with World of Warcraft Add-ons
by Paul Emmerich

Beginning Lua with World of Warcraft Add-ons
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Book Summary Information

Author: Paul Emmerich
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-07-29
ISBN: 1430223715
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Apress

Book Reviews of Beginning Lua with World of Warcraft Add-ons

Book Review: "Beginning" definitely doesn't mean "Beginner"
Summary: 5 Stars

I'm not quite sure where to start on a review like this, so I'll just skip to the end: if you are seriously thinking of writing WoW add-ons, then make sure you read this book! Now that I've got that out of the way, let me go back and explain why.

There are three primary reasons why I would recommend this book to someone. First, the author of this book created Deadly Boss Mods, one of the most popular (and indispensable) add-ons available, which means that the knowledge he shares comes from experience. That experience comes in handy for navigating around those "gotchas" that have crept into the API over time. Second, the technical information he provides is both thorough and presented in an way that helps you understand the "why" and "how" of add-on development. For instance, the author waits until the end of the book to explain macros. This might seem a bit backwards until you read the rest of the book and realize just how much you need to know to make the most of the macro system. Third, this book is an excellent introduction to Lua, the scripting language used in WoW add-ons. The book provides a thorough understanding of Lua, meaning that the information you learn for writing WoW add-ons will be just as useful when you decide to write Lua-based add-ons for other applications (or when you just want to use Lua on its own).

Now, there were a few things about the book that I initially didn't like. First, the book is written in an informal, somewhat conversational style. As a result, I thought this was going to be a "For Dummies" type of book. After a few chapters, it becomes clear that this book is definitely not for dummies and the relaxed style ends up making the information very accessible. Second, one of the larger add-ons that the author builds is a "Texas Hold-Em" client/server. Since I had no intention of writing this kind of add-on (and Texas Hold-Em is a little dated), I thought I was in for several chapters of useless information. Again, after reading just a small way into that section, it became clear that the internal workings of the add-on apply to all large, multi-user add-ons. The "hold-em" part of the add-on ends up being entirely secondary. Do not skip over this add-on!

So if, after all of this, you are still thinking to yourself that you can just read some online resources, dissect a few existing mods, then sit down and write your own, think again. Source code will not provide the knowledge you need to write high-quality, professional mods. This book provides that knowledge.

Summary of Beginning Lua with World of Warcraft Add-ons

If you play World of Warcraft, chances are you know what Deadly Boss Mods is: it's the most widely downloaded modification available for World of Warcraft, considered required software for many professional raid guilds, and arguably the most popular modern video game mod in history.

Paul Emmerich, the author of Deadly Boss Mods, will take you from novice to elite with his approachable, up-to-date guide to building add-ons for the most popular video game in history. Using the powerful Lua scripting language and XML, you'll learn how to build and update powerful mods that can fundamentally remake your World of Warcraft experience and introduce you to the field of professional software development.

Beginning Lua with World of Warcraft Add-ons teaches you the essentials of Lua and XML using exciting code examples that you can run and apply immediately. You'll gain competence in Lua specifics like tables and metatables and the imperative nature of Lua as a scripting language. More advanced techniques like file persistence, error handling, and script debugging are made clear as you learn everything within the familiar, exciting context of making tools that work in Azeroth.

You'll not only learn all about the World of Warcraft application programming interface and programming, and gain coding skills that will make all your online friends think you're a coding god, but also gain hands-on Lua scripting experience that could translate into an exciting job in the video game industry!

What you?ll learn

  • See how to program Lua using basic and advanced techniques applicable to WoW and video game coding.
  • Explore the unique design, modeling, and workflow constraints of video game mod makers from one of its most successful practitioners.
  • Become the coolest character on your server?with tools and scripts that will make your friends gasp.

Who this book is for

This book is for World of Warcraft players, developers, and mod makers who want to learn how to program add-ons in Lua and XML, either to learn Lua or to improve their game experience. Working coders who don't know Lua and want to learn about this exciting, popular scripting language will also benefit.

The advanced material in this book will also be useful to those with World of Warcraft addon programming experience, so prior programming experience is an advantage, but not a requirement.

Table of Contents

  1. Getting Started
  2. Lua Basics 
  3. Using the WoW API to Create a "Hello, World" Mod
  4. Working with Game Events
  5. Using XML and Frames
  6. Advanced Lua
  7. Using Advanced Lua to Extend the Texas Hold?em Poker Add-on
  8. Building a Poker Game Client with Add-on Communication
  9. Using the Combat Log to Build a Cooldown Monitor
  10. Using Libraries
  11. Working with Secure Templates
  12. Macros
  13. Tips, Tricks, and Optimization
  14. Other Uses for Lua

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