structures¶

struct record {
        int last;
        int used;

        void use(int count);
};

This structure is for advanced usage with stack::get and stack::check_get. When overriding the customization points, it is important to call the use member function on this class with the amount of things you are pulling from the stack. used contains the total accumulation of items produced. last is the number of items gotten from the stack with the last operation (not necessarily popped from the stack). In all trivial cases for types, last == 1 and used == 1 after an operation; structures such as std::pair and std::tuple may pull more depending on the classes it contains.

When overriding the customization points, please note that this structure should enable you to push multiple return values and get multiple return values to the stack, and thus be able to seamlessly pack/unpack return values from Lua into a single C++ struct, and vice-versa. This functionality is only recommended for people who need to customize the library further than the basics. It is also a good way to add support for the type and propose it back to the original library so that others may benefit from your work.

Note that customizations can also be put up on a separate page here, if individuals decide to make in-depth custom ones for their framework or other places.

struct probe {
        bool success;
        int levels;

        probe(bool s, int l);
        operator bool() const;
};

This struct is used for showing whether or not a probing get_field was successful or not.

members¶

template<bool check_args = stack_detail::default_check_arguments, bool clean_stack = true, typename Fx, typename... FxArgs>
inline int call_lua(lua_State* L, int start, Fx&& fx, FxArgs&&... fxargs);

This function is helpful for when you bind to a raw C function but need sol’s abstractions to save you the agony of setting up arguments and know how calling C functions works. The start parameter tells the function where to start pulling arguments from. The parameter fx is what’s supposed to be called. Extra arguments are passed to the function directly. There are intermediate versions of this (sol::stack::call_into_lua and similar) for more advanced users, but they are not documented as they are subject to change to improve performance or adjust the API accordingly in later iterations of sol3. Use the more advanced versions at your own peril.

template <typename T>
auto get( lua_State* L, int index = -1 )
template <typename T>
auto get( lua_State* L, int index, record& tracking )

Retrieves the value of the object at index in the stack. The return type varies based on T: with primitive types, it is usually T: for all unrecognized T, it is generally a T& or whatever the extension point sol_lua_get<T> implementation returns. The type T is tried once as it is (with const and reference qualifiers left alone) and then once more once it has top-level const qualifiers and reference modifiers removed before being forwarded to the extension point sol_lua_get<T> function. stack::get will default to forwarding all arguments to the stack::check_get function with a handler of type_panic to strongly alert for errors, if you ask for the safety.

You may also retrieve an sol::optional<T> from this as well, to have it attempt to not throw errors when performing the get and the type is not correct.

template <typename T>
bool check( lua_State* L, int index = -1 )

template <typename T, typename Handler>
bool check( lua_State* L, int index, Handler&& handler )

template <typename T, typename Handler>
bool check( lua_State* L, int index, Handler&& handler, record& tracking )

Checks if the object at index is of type T. If it is not, it will call the handler function with lua_State* L, int index, sol::type expected, and sol::type actual as arguments (and optionally with a 5th string argument sol::string_view message. If you do not pass your own handler, a no_panic handler will be passed.

template <typename T>
auto get_usertype( lua_State* L, int index = -1 )
template <typename T>
auto get_usertype( lua_State* L, int index, record& tracking )

Directly attempts to rertieve the type T using sol3’s usertype mechanisms. Similar to a regular get for a user-defined type. Useful when you need to access sol3’s usertype getter mechanism while at the same time providing your own customization.

template <typename T>
bool check_usertype( lua_State* L, int index = -1 )

template <typename T, typename Handler>
bool check_usertype( lua_State* L, int index, Handler&& handler )

template <typename T, typename Handler>
bool check_usertype( lua_State* L, int index, Handler&& handler, record& tracking )

Checks if the object at index is of type T and stored as a sol3 usertype. Useful when you need to access sol3’s usertype checker mechanism while at the same time providing your own customization.

template <typename T>
auto check_get( lua_State* L, int index = -1 )
template <typename T, typename Handler>
auto check_get( lua_State* L, int index, Handler&& handler, record& tracking )

Retrieves the value of the object at index in the stack, but does so safely. It returns an optional<U>, where U in this case is the return type deduced from stack::get<T>. This allows a person to properly check if the type they’re getting is what they actually want, and gracefully handle errors when working with the stack if they so choose to. You can define SOL_ALL_SAFETIES_ON to turn on additional safety, in which stack::get will default to calling this version of the function with some variant on a handler of sol::type_panic_string to strongly alert for errors and help you track bugs if you suspect something might be going wrong in your system.

// push T inferred from call site, pass args... through to extension point
template <typename T, typename... Args>
int push( lua_State* L, T&& item, Args&&... args )

// push T that is explicitly specified, pass args... through to extension point
template <typename T, typename Arg, typename... Args>
int push( lua_State* L, Arg&& arg, Args&&... args )

// recursively call the the above "push" with T inferred, one for each argument
template <typename... Args>
int multi_push( lua_State* L, Args&&... args )

Based on how it is called, pushes a variable amount of objects onto the stack. in 99% of cases, returns for 1 object pushed onto the stack. For the case of a std::tuple<...>, it recursively pushes each object contained inside the tuple, from left to right, resulting in a variable number of things pushed onto the stack (this enables multi-valued returns when binding a C++ function to a Lua). Can be called with sol::stack::push<T>( L, args... ) to have arguments different from the type that wants to be pushed, or sol::stack::push( L, arg, args... ) where T will be inferred from arg. The final form of this function is sol::stack::multi_push, which will call one sol::stack::push for each argument. The T that describes what to push is first sanitized by removing top-level const qualifiers and reference qualifiers before being forwarded to the extension point sol_lua_push<T>.

// push T inferred from call site, pass args... through to extension point
template <typename T, typename... Args>
int push_reference( lua_State* L, T&& item, Args&&... args )

// push T that is explicitly specified, pass args... through to extension point
template <typename T, typename Arg, typename... Args>
int push_reference( lua_State* L, Arg&& arg, Args&&... args )

// recursively call the the above "push" with T inferred, one for each argument
template <typename... Args>
int multi_push_reference( lua_State* L, Args&&... args )

These functinos behave similarly to the ones above, but they check for specific criteria and instead attempt to push a reference rather than forcing a copy if appropriate. Use cautiously as sol3 uses this mainly as a return from usertype functions and variables to preserve chaining/variable semantics from that a class object. Its internals are updated to fit the needs of sol3 and while it generally does the “right thing” and has not needed to be changed for a while, sol3 reserves the right to change its internal detection mechanisms to suit its users needs at any time, generally without breaking backwards compatibility and expectations but not exactly guaranteed.

template <typename... Args>
auto pop( lua_State* L );

Pops an object off the stack. Will remove a fixed number of objects off the stack, generally determined by the sol::lua_size<T> traits of the arguments supplied. Generally a simplicity function, used for convenience.

int top( lua_State* L );

Returns the number of values on the stack.

template <bool global = false, typename Key, typename Value>
void set_field( lua_State* L, Key&& k, Value&& v );

template <bool global = false, typename Key, typename Value>
void set_field( lua_State* L, Key&& k, Value&& v, int objectindex);

Sets the field referenced by the key k to the given value v, by pushing the key onto the stack, pushing the value onto the stack, and then doing the equivalent of lua_setfield for the object at the given objectindex. Performs optimizations and calls faster verions of the function if the type of Key is considered a c-style string and/or if its also marked by the templated global argument to be a global.

template <bool global = false, typename Key>
void get_field( lua_State* L, Key&& k [, int objectindex] );

Gets the field referenced by the key k, by pushing the key onto the stack, and then doing the equivalent of lua_getfield. Performs optimizations and calls faster verions of the function if the type of Key is considered a c-style string and/or if its also marked by the templated global argument to be a global.

This function leaves the retrieved value on the stack.

template <bool global = false, typename Key>
probe probe_get_field( lua_State* L, Key&& k [, int objectindex] );

Gets the field referenced by the key k, by pushing the key onto the stack, and then doing the equivalent of lua_getfield. Performs optimizations and calls faster verions of the function if the type of Key is considered a c-style string and/or if its also marked by the templated global argument to be a global. Furthermore, it does this safely by only going in as many levels deep as is possible: if the returned value is not something that can be indexed into, then traversal queries with std::tuple/std::pair will stop early and return probing information with the probe struct.

This function leaves the retrieved value on the stack.

objects (extension points)¶

You can customize the way sol handles different structures and classes by following the information provided in the adding your own types.

Below is more extensive information for the curious.

MyType sol_lua_get ( sol::types<MyType>, lua_State* L, int index, sol::stack::record& tracking ) {
        // do work
        // ...

        return MyType{}; // return value
}

This extension point is to get an object (or reference or pointer or whatever) of type T, or something convertible to it. The default internal getter implementation assumes T is a usertype and pulls out a userdata from Lua before attempting to cast it to the desired T.

Interally, there are implementations for getting numbers (std::is_floating, std::is_integral-matching types), getting std::string and const char* plus wide string and unicode variants, getting raw userdata with userdata_value and anything as upvalues with upvalue_index, getting raw lua_CFunction s, and finally pulling out Lua functions into std::function<R(Args...)>. It is also defined for anything that derives from sol::reference. It also has a special implementation for the 2 standard library smart pointers (see usertype memory) that can be more specifically extended.

int push ( sol::types<MyType>, lua_State* L, MyType&& value ) {
        // can optionally take more than just 1 argument
        // to "construct" in-place and similar
        // use them however you like!
        // ...
        return N; // number of things pushed onto the stack
}

This extension point is to push a value into Lua. It returns the number of things pushed onto the stack. The default implementation assumes T is a usertype and pushes a userdata into Lua with a class-specific, state-wide metatable associated with it. There are implementations for pushing numbers (std::is_floating, std::is_integral-matching types), getting std::string and const char*, getting raw userdata with userdata and raw upvalues with upvalue, getting raw lua_CFunction s, and finally pulling out Lua functions into sol::function. It is also defined for anything that derives from sol::reference. It also has a special implementation for the 2 standard library smart pointers (see usertype memory).

template <typename Handler>
bool sol_lua_check ( sol::types<MyType>, lua_State* L, int index, Handler&& handler, sol::stack::record& tracking ) {
        // if the object in the Lua stack at index is a T, return true
        if ( ... ) {
                tracking.use(1); // or however many you use
                return true;
        }
        // otherwise, call the handler function,
        // with the required 4/5 arguments, then return false
        //
        handler(L, index, expected, indextype, "message");
        return false;
}

This extension point is to check whether or not a type at a given index is what its supposed to be. The default implementation simply checks whether the expected type passed in through the template is equal to the type of the object at the specified index in the Lua stack. The default implementation for types which are considered userdata go through a myriad of checks to support checking if a type is actually of type T or if its the base class of what it actually stored as a userdata in that index.

Note that you may

template <typename T, typename Handler>
bool sol_lua_interop_check(sol::types<T>, lua_State* L, int relindex, sol::type index_type, Handler&& handler, sol::stack::record& tracking) {
        // implement custom checking here for a userdata:
        // if it doesn't match, return "false" and regular
        // sol userdata checks will kick in
        return false;
        // returning true will skip sol's
        // default checks
}

This extension point is to check a foreign userdata. It should return true if a type meets some custom userdata specifiction (from, say, another library or an internal framework), and false if it does not. The default implementation just returns false to let the original sol3 handlers take care of everything. If you want to implement your own usertype checking; e.g., for messing with toLua or OOLua or kaguya or some other libraries. Note that the library must have a with a memory compatible layout if you want to specialize this checker method but not the subsequent getter method. You can specialize it as shown in the interop examples.

template <typename T>
std::pair<bool, T*> sol_lua_interop_get(sol::types<T> t, lua_State* L, int relindex, void* unadjusted_pointer, sol::stack::record& tracking) {
        // implement custom getting here for non-sol3 userdatas:
        // if it doesn't match, return "false" and regular
        // sol userdata getters will kick in
        return { false, nullptr };
}

This extension point is to get a foreign userdata. It should return both true and an adjusted pointer if a type meets some custom userdata specifiction (from, say, another library or an internal framework). The default implementation just returns { false, nullptr } to let the default sol3 implementation take care of everything. You can use it to interop with other frameworks that are not sol3 but still include their power; e.g., for messing with kaguya or some other libraries. You can specialize it as shown in the interop examples.