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Lua VS Qt / C++

Compare Lua VS Qt / C++ and see what are their differences

Lua logo Lua

Powerful, fast, lightweight, embeddable scripting language

Qt / C++ logo Qt / C++

Qt is a great cross-platform development toolkit.
  • Lua Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-29

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

  • Qt / C++ Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-28

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.

Qt / C++ features and specs

  • Cross-platform compatibility
    Qt allows developers to write applications once and deploy them across multiple platforms such as Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. This significantly reduces development time and costs.
  • Rich set of libraries
    Qt provides a comprehensive set of libraries and tools for building both GUI and non-GUI applications, which helps developers create feature-rich applications without needing additional tools.
  • Strong community and support
    Qt has a large and active community, offering extensive documentation, forums, and third-party resources. This can assist developers in solving problems quickly.
  • Consistent API
    Qt offers stable and consistent APIs across versions, which helps in maintaining and updating applications with minimal effort.
  • Open-source availability
    Qt is available as an open-source framework under both commercial and LGPL licenses, providing flexibility for different types of projects.

Possible disadvantages of Qt / C++

  • Steep learning curve
    Qt, especially when used with C++, can have a steep learning curve for new developers due to its extensive framework and C++ complexity.
  • Commercial licensing costs
    While Qt is available as open-source, the commercial version can be expensive, particularly for small businesses or startups.
  • Binary size
    Applications built with Qt might result in larger binary sizes compared to applications developed with other frameworks, which could be a concern for resource-constrained environments.
  • Slightly outdated UI components
    Although Qt provides many UI components, some may appear dated compared to native components of modern operating systems, requiring custom styling for a modern look.
  • Limited mobile development features
    While Qt supports mobile platforms, it may not offer full access to native device features or as robust support as native mobile development tools, making it less ideal for certain mobile applications.

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!

Qt / C++ videos

No Qt / C++ videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Lua and Qt / C++)
Programming Language
84 84%
16% 16
OOP
79 79%
21% 21
Generic Programming Language
Medical Practice Management

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Lua should be more popular than Qt / C++. 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 / about 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
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Qt / C++ mentions (13)

  • Check out my new drawing software PainterQt for Windows operating systems!!
    PainterQt is an open source drawing software written in C++ using Qt GUI creation technology. PainterQt is a personal project of mine that started with a few lines with the purpose of understanding how Qt's QPainter class works. The program grew and I decided to work on it in a serious project and then distribute it. I would love to see this dream of mine come true, so if you could take a look at the software and... Source: about 2 years ago
  • GUI programming in C++
    Qt Looks like native widgets Lots of functionality Event based - can both be intuitive to understand and complex, but is efficient for CPU for typical desktop applications Lots of resources available. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Maui vs the alternatives (Avalonia, Flutter, Electron, etc)
    Have you tried Qt? It's a cross-platform framework written in C++. There are also bindings for Qt for other languages that allow you to write code in such languages (like Python). Source: over 2 years ago
  • QML for Python and poor community !!
    Can you suggest some tutorials and sources for QML and Python , I can't find any helpful sources (videos on YouTube / Project in github ) , except the qt.io but it's not enough and there are a few examples there . Source: over 2 years ago
  • Point me in the right direction please.
    Well, since you mention Qt... Install it with the Online Installer (https://www.qt.io/download-qt-installer, then ignore all the talk about commercial version, you do want the open source version). Just one version of Qt, probably the latest. For Windows, choose MingGW version of Qt and check that the matching MinGW is set to be installed too. If you have trouble, check out the installation instructions (should be... Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Lua and Qt / C++, 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.

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

Gambas - Gambas is a full-featured object language and development environment built on a BASIC interpreter.

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

Rust - A safe, concurrent, practical language

Java - A concurrent, class-based, object-oriented, language specifically designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible