Good evening devs. I’m really interested in learning lua and programming as a whole. I don’t really know where to get started. I know I should look at lua docs, open-source projects made in lua, and youtube tutorials. But all of those seem overwhelming to look at. I’ve tried all of them and they all are just too complicated. If anyone could help that’d be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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If YouTube tutorials are too complicated then it’s difficult to give any further advice. There are YouTube tutorials covering the very basics of programming in Lua, so I would probably start with those. If that doesn’t make sense you could try watching intros to programming more generally.
This is also a fairly vital resource; everything is written in pretty simple terms so if you’re willing to sit down and read it should give you some pretty important insights:
https://www.lua.org/manual/5.1/
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Read free model scripts. Thats how i got into scripting
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Didn’t he say Roblox docs are overwhelming for him?
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Do not rely on easily perishable sources such as YouTube videos and old, inactive free models. Learning from those is likely to encourage bad scripting habits such as the use of deprecated items.
The Roblox engine and the Luau language as a whole are constantly evolving; by the time you learn something from the aforementioned, chances are it’s already superseded by a newer and more efficient alternative, which you will then have to re-learn and end up wasting time and effort.
There really isn’t an “easy” and “cheap” way to learn to program. Programming and software engineering by default is a pretty difficult field involving a lot of logistics and cognitive thinking. If you really want to learn and become a good coder, you will have to put in a lot of effort; trying to cut corners just isn’t the way.
Like what @PerilousPanther and @daulric said, try reading the Roblox documentation and the fundamental Lua/Luau language manual. I would also advise you to use the DevForum frequently; you’re always welcome to ask questions and see what’s new in the #updates:announcements channel!
Lastly, it is also important to learn chronologically. For example, do not try to use OOP if you don’t understand metatables, and do not try to use type annotations if you don’t understand the programmative changes brought on by Luau. Trying to skip steps will make you fall into confusion.
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