Hello. I am Russian, and I do not know anything about programming language lua, but would like to learn. Where can I begin to teach Lua for Codea, I would like to find a training for dummies. Thank you in advance.
if i make effort ?i would be a Codea master in 3 years?but now i couldnt capable of helping you?i really feel sorry for that?last time my stock losed one million dollars?but my estate appreciated three millions dollars
Look at the “Wiki” link at the top of the page. That will show you links to more info also.
Just let me encourage you: lua is easy to learn.
The trickiest thing for an absolute beginner is that most instructional texts assume you’re typing into a console. Codea is not a console simulator. So a text may say “type in this and this and you’ll see this”, and Codea doesn’t work that way.
That’s why @Ignatz’s blog is so helpful–it’s specific to using lua in Codea.
thanks to all
if I can make of it, I learn how to program in lua, I will sacrifice to codea $ 1000 in gratitude. I’m a smart man, but stupid in programming. I am well paid and satisfied with his work, but since I’m a big fan of games like to learn how to do them, and for that I chose codea. Thank you in advance that you exist, dtsmayu you fulfilled my dream.
@iceman - start with @Ignatz’s book (and also the excellent tutorial series by @ReefWing - GIYF), keep things simple to begin with then when you’ve released your first Codea app, I’m sure @Ignatz and @ReefWing would be happy to split your $1000 - or you could just buy them each a new iPad 
As the other’s have said - learning to program in Lua is easy - BUT only if you have the kind of analytical mind that allows you to break a problem down in to a series of steps to solve it.
Have a play with the CargoBot example app, it’s a great fun way to introduce someone into the three core programming principals.
- Sequence - the idea of doing one thing after another in order
- Selection - making a choice as to which code instructions to perform based on a simple true / false choice
- Iteration - doing the same sequence of operations over and over - used to build up loops and often used with selection to do different things as the program runs
It also introduces “variables” which as the name suggests are specific named locations in the computers memory where values can be stored and then recalled later - they can also hold different values which you can change as the program runs - hence the name “variable”.
Keep things simple and take baby steps, dedicated practice and persistence WILL pay off in the end.
IMHO, the CargoBot app is the last thing I would try initially. It is extremely complex. I would start with very simple programs of 50-100 lines.
@Ignatz - I do see you point (and agree when @Iceman is actually ready to start learning Lua), for my part I was trying to find the easiest way to get across the three core tenant’s of programming in a fun way.
Granted - at the harder levels, Cargo Bot has some puzzles that are very hard to solve, but I think the complexity is actually a function of the simplicity (and the freedom) of the basic idea.
However I was inspired by the numbers that @Simeon tweeted that CargoBot now has over 1.2 million downloads on the app store and over 500,000 are listed as “educational” purchases - so a few people must agree with me.
And anyway - shut up, don’t you want your free iPad from @Iceman?
@TechDojo, those are three good principles, but I’d like to suggest there is another, more fundamental principle:
- try to figure out how to solve a problem yourself before you ask someone else
I got this from an essay by Chris Crawford, which I can’t find a link for anymore.
Yes, ask for help; yes, learn from others; yes, swallow your pride and admit when you’re stumped; but first try to do it yourself.
@Ignatz + 1, don’t go for CargoBot at the outset. CargoBot was clearly the most tempting and shiny example to try to understand, but so complex for a complete beginner. Plus the extensive use of inheritance makes it very difficult to read, even when it’s doing something very simple at the root of it.
Start small. Think of something really simple, and then work out how to do it. Then build on that, and build on that, and soon you’ll have quite complex ideas represented on screen. It’s extremely rewarding.
@iceman, and also, the Stack Overflow website is your friend. There’s not a ton on Codea, but for lua and for programming questions in general, it’s the best resource on the planet.
@UberGoober - Agreed, when I was at college we were taught to program using a variant of Jackson Structured Programming and one of the key principals was Top Down Design aka Functional Decomposition which is the idea that you break a problem down into sequences of smaller and smaller steps until you reach a point where by you understand what’s required and can then start to build back up piece by piece.
Also just to clarify - I wasn’t suggesting using Cargo Bot as a tool to learn programming per se (and especially NOT to study the source), instead I meant to play the game and treat it as a “fun” / simple way to introduce the concept of Sequence, Selection & Iteration. As @UberGoober correctly stated being able to understand how to solve a problem (or at least present a theory of where to start) is vital - and IMHO one thing about Cargo Bot is that (especially for the first few levels) is that the problem is fairly well defined (which is CRITICAL) and you can also get hint’s on your solution.
As usual - just my $0.02
I’m very flattered! I am very grateful for your advice and I really divide even $ 2,000 when fully learn how to program. And undertakes to allocate 10.000 $ codea with their earnings in the future games. I read the last three days manuals, think, reflect, and learned a lot. This course is very small, but I think this is just the beginning and the beginning is good. I thought long and made 5 hours game where you play as a god and you have to think about their decisions, earn mana and learn new skills. Wait a report on the game and I think you can help me as a stupid person in this field. I’ll try for your guests to learn through play-writing examples and finish reading guide. Many thanks. And Sorry for the grammatical errors, and I’m still learning English in parallel.
@Iceman - Dedication and consistent practice are the keys to success in any endeavour, it certainly seems like you have lot’s of the former.
Good luck with your games, I’m sure the forum members would be happy to see & help with any code you create.