is it worth learning metatables? ive hardly seen any developer use them in their project/creation.
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Metatables are useful in certain cases, such as OOP (object orientated programming). I use them in script environments, class creation, and client security. You may never really need to use a metatable, it really depends on what you are doing.
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Metatables are useful when scripting modules, if you now go and check an open source module like a Data Handler, you will probably find a metatable or a metamethod. If you’re going to focus on OOP I would recommend you learning the basics about metatables and metamethods.
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If you think it’s interesting and want to learn for learning’s sake, it’s a really cool topic. Go for it.
If you just want to learn programming because you need it to make games, you can totally skip it. There’s no game that can’t be made without metatables. But it is a neat trick to have up your sleeve.
You’re likely to not need metatables to create what you want to program, but they can definitely help with cleanly implementing various code structures and creating modular code.
Unless you’re programming at an advanced level already, I wouldn’t bother with OOP at all. But basic understanding of metatables will come in useful in specific cases. Like flamenco_687 already suggested above, digging through some open source code is a great way to learn and understand the power of metatables and how they can be used.
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Metatables are utilized to change the behavior of a normal table.
The utility of a metatable can be useful, but not compulsory. You can use them to create immutable structures, the utility of varying programming paradigms (for instance, Objective Oriented Programming), performing arithmetic on tables, and many other varying use cases.
As you progress a programmer, you will likely be using metatables more frequently, not because you need them, but because you want them.
I think it’s worth learning metatables, even if you don’t use them in your scripts. They can provide some insight as to how both your own tables and Roblox’s userdata function. I find myself using them quite often whenever I am implementing true OOP, since Lua doesn’t have any explicit classes.
We can definitely say that, metatables are those type of things that are not necessary to learn and use, but learning and using them will give you a better understanding of scripting and will help you keeping your project clean.
Topics with comparable titles continually sprout in this category for whatever reason, and the accepted solution is nearly always “You don’t have to, but it’s worth gaining more knowledge you can apply to specific implements” (one outlined by good_evening in this topic) or “used to implement an OOP paradigm, which you should seldom concern yourself with since typically it is not necessary to be used”.
Is it worth learning metatables?
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What are metatables for and how to understand them?
Do I HAVE to include metatables in my games?
Should I use metatables or ModuleScripts for storing data? - #4 by Corecii
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