Data Types

In the previous chapter we've discussed variables, which are named boxes which hold information inside of them.

Now, what can a variable store? We've seen it store numbers (like 20) and text (like "Bob").

A variable can store much more, the types of things a variable can store is called a data type.

Primitive Data Types

Primitive data types are the most basic kind of data type, any other data type is created using these data types. We will only learn about primitive data types for now.

Number

Pretty self explanetory, a number is any number, it could be an integer, or a number with decimals.

local myFavoriteNumber = 7
local pi = 3.14159265359

String

A string is a string of characters, or a list of characters, or simply just text.

local foo = "This is a string!"
print(foo)

Strings start with a quote " and end with another quote ", you can also use single quotes '. If you want to use a quote inside of a string, like this:

local foo = "The boy said, "Hello!""

This will result in an error, it thinks you are trying to end the string. You can fix this by escaping the quote, this is done by putting a backslash infront of it \.

local foo = "The boy said, \"Hello!\""

You could also use single quotes:

local foo = 'The boy said, "Hello!"'

Boolean

A boolean is just true or false. This could mean yes or no, or if a condition is true or false, or if something is positive or negative. Any value with 2 states can be a boolean.

local foo = true
local bar = false

nil

nil is a special keyword which represents nothing. This can be used to specify that a value does not exist. For example, a winner variable which is nil if the game resulted in a draw.

local nothing = nil

The typeof() function

typeof is a function like print, it gives you the type of the value you give it.

print(typeof("Foo")) -- prints "string"