Creator of Lua: Scripting, Programming Languages, Predictions | Roberto Ierusalimschy

Roberto Ierusalimschy is the creator of the Lua programming language. I interviewed him about Lua's unique strengths, programming language design and predictions for how AI will impact programming languages.

• My ergonomic keyboard project I mentioned, you can follow along here: read.compose.llc
• The Kickstarter page for it: kickstarter.com/projects/ryanlpeterman/compose…

Podcast links:

• YouTube: youtu.be/jCZnFKk6M9A
• Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-peterman-pod…
• Transcript: developing.dev/p/creator-of-lua-scripting-prog…

Thank you to this episode's sponsor for supporting my work:

• WorkOS: makes your app Enterprise Ready with easy to use APIs to add SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more in just a few lines of code, check them out at workos.com

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(00:43) What sets Lua apart
(08:35) Comparing Lua with Python
(13:04) Top book recommendation on language design
(14:20) How JIT works and why it is hard
(23:21) Compiling Python and interpreting C
(30:31) How cross language calls work
(36:58) Lua unique design decisions
(51:17) Predictions for AIs impact on languages
(01:00:10) Top 3 languages to learn to become a better engineer
(01:03:21) Advice for his younger self
(01:04:19) Outro

Where to find Roberto:

• Website: inf.puc-rio.br/~roberto
• Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Ierusalimschy

Where to find Ryan:

• Newsletter: developing.dev
• X/Twitter: x.com/ryanlpeterman
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ryanlpeterman
• Threads: threads.com/@ryanlpeterman
• Instagram: instagram.com/ryanlpeterman
• TikTok: tiktok.com/@ryanlpeterman

Referenced in this episode:

• The Evolution of Lua: lua.org/doc/hopl.pdf
• LuaJIT: luajit.org
• How much does it cost: youtube.com/watch?v=EUvgoxBm7uc
• JavaScript: The Good Parts (not an affiliate link): amazon.com/dp/0596517742