Emacs Lisp vs Lua

The Lisp that turns your text editor into an OS, whether you wanted one or not meets the swiss army knife of scripting languages. Here's our take.

Emacs Lisp

Nice Pick

The Lisp that turns your text editor into an OS, whether you wanted one or not.

Pros

• Tight integration with Emacs allows for deep editor customization
• Dynamic scoping and macros enable powerful, expressive code
• Mature ecosystem with extensive libraries for text processing

Cons

• Dynamic scoping can lead to confusing bugs and debugging headaches
• Steep learning curve for those new to Lisp or Emacs's idiosyncrasies

Lua

The Swiss Army knife of scripting languages. Tiny, fast, and perfect for embedding, but don't expect a full kitchen sink.

Pros

• Extremely lightweight and fast, ideal for embedded systems
• Simple syntax that's easy to learn and integrate
• Excellent for game scripting and extensibility in applications

Cons

• Limited standard library compared to languages like Python
• Can be quirky with error handling and debugging tools

The Verdict

Use Emacs Lisp if: You want tight integration with emacs allows for deep editor customization and can live with dynamic scoping can lead to confusing bugs and debugging headaches.

Use Lua if: You prioritize extremely lightweight and fast, ideal for embedded systems over what Emacs Lisp offers.

The Bottom Line

Emacs Lisp wins

The Lisp that turns your text editor into an OS, whether you wanted one or not.