Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Lua VS PureBasic

Compare Lua VS PureBasic and see what are their differences

Lua logo Lua

Powerful, fast, lightweight, embeddable scripting language

PureBasic logo PureBasic

Fantaisie Software Official WebSite. PureBasic - Feel The Pure Power. PureBasic is a programming language based on established BASIC rules.
  • Lua Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-29

We recommend LibHunt Lua for discovery and comparisons of trending Lua projects.

  • PureBasic Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-12-21

Lua features and specs

  • Easy to Embed
    Lua is designed to be embedded within applications. It has a simple C API which allows it to be integrated easily with C, C++ and other languages.
  • Small Footprint
    Lua is lightweight, with a small memory footprint. This makes it ideal for use in resource-constrained environments, such as embedded systems and game development.
  • Fast Performance
    Lua is known for its high performance due to its efficient interpreter and just-in-time compilation capabilities provided by LuaJIT.
  • Simplicity
    The syntax of Lua is simple and clean, making it easy to learn and use. It's designed to be both powerful and simple.
  • Extensibility
    Lua can be extended through libraries written in C or other languages, allowing for a lot of flexibility and functionality expansion.
  • Dynamic Typing
    Lua uses dynamic typing, which can make code more flexible and easier to write without the need for explicit type definitions.

Possible disadvantages of Lua

  • Limited Standard Library
    The standard library in Lua is relatively small compared to other programming languages, which can result in the need for additional third-party libraries.
  • Niche Use Case
    Lua is not as widely adopted for general-purpose programming compared to other languages such as Python or JavaScript, which might limit community support and resources.
  • Error Handling
    Lua's error handling mechanisms are somewhat rudimentary compared to languages that offer advanced exception handling like Python or Java.
  • Lack of Type Safety
    While dynamic typing offers flexibility, it also introduces the risk of type errors at runtime, as type mismatches can only be discovered during execution.
  • Concurrency Limitations
    Lua does not have inherent support for multithreading or concurrency within the language itself. It relies on external libraries or specific environments to handle such tasks.

PureBasic features and specs

  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    PureBasic supports Windows, Linux, and Mac OS, allowing developers to write code once and run it on multiple operating systems without modifications.
  • Simple Syntax
    The language has a straightforward and easy-to-learn syntax, making it accessible for beginners and enabling rapid development.
  • Fast Executables
    PureBasic compiles directly to native machine code, resulting in fast and efficient executables with minimal dependencies.
  • Comprehensive Standard Library
    The language provides a wide range of built-in libraries that simplify tasks like GUI creation, networking, and multimedia management.
  • Active Community
    PureBasic has an active and supportive community, offering forums, tutorials, and third-party resources that can help developers solve problems and enhance their projects.

Possible disadvantages of PureBasic

  • Limited Third-Party Libraries
    Compared to more popular languages, PureBasic has fewer third-party libraries and frameworks, which can limit functionality and integrations.
  • Niche Market
    PureBasic is not as widely used as other programming languages, which can result in fewer job opportunities and community resources.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    The language is designed to be simple, which means it may lack some advanced programming constructs and paradigms found in other languages.
  • License Cost
    PureBasic is not free software; there is a one-time cost associated with obtaining a license, which may be a consideration for developers or small businesses with budget constraints.
  • Basic IDE
    The integrated development environment that comes with PureBasic is quite basic compared to modern IDEs, potentially impacting coding efficiency.

Lua videos

Is Lua A Good First Language To Learn?

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Introduction - What is Lua? || Lua Tutorial #1
  • Review - Xerjoff Lua Fragrance / Cologne Review + GIVEAWAY!

PureBasic videos

No PureBasic videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Lua and PureBasic)
Programming Language
76 76%
24% 24
IDE
0 0%
100% 100
OOP
86 86%
14% 14
Generic Programming Language

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Lua seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 23 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Lua mentions (23)

  • What do I think about Lua after shipping a project with 60k lines of code?
    I would start at https://lua.org/ I'm creating a set of libraries to make Lua into a (still lightweight) application language https://github.com/civboot/civlua. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • How Programming Languages Got Their Names
    Lua means 'Moon' in Portuguese, as it is also their logo: https://lua.org. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Where can I learn lua
    The official lua website is a pretty good place to go! As well as lua users & tutorials point has a really good tutorial for lua too! The official site may be hard to understand at time (it was for me at least) but that’s why I gave you the other two. they’ll explain it simpler/better than the official site may sometimes. Hope this helps! Source: about 2 years ago
  • A Weekly Class for PICO-8 Beginners
    1) Who Should Sign Up? - People with no, little, or intermediate skills in programming or PICO-8. 2) What Will We Cover? - Fantasy Console Paradigm: The Full Overview of What PICO-8 can do. - Lua and the uses of its modified API within PICO-8. Programming, 101. 3) What to Expect - A full game all your own! - Brought together in a 4-8 classes, in live teaching sessions in which you can interact with... Source: about 2 years ago
  • data types in function definition
    I have tried a few thins but no luck and found nothing on the web, also looks as if lua.org main forums no longer exist. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

PureBasic mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of PureBasic yet. Tracking of PureBasic recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Lua and PureBasic, you can also consider the following products

Python - Python is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming language, comparable to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, or Java.

Xojo - Real Software and Real Studio are now Xojo.

C++ - Has imperative, object-oriented and generic programming features, while also providing the facilities for low level memory manipulation

FreeBASIC - FreeBASIC is a completely free, open-source, 32-bit BASIC compiler, with syntax similar to...

JavaScript - Lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented language with first-class functions

PowerBASIC - PowerBASIC, formerly Turbo Basic, is the brand of several commercial compilers by PowerBASIC Inc.