Why was lua chosen for neovim?

Neovim
1

Hi,

Why Lua was chosen for neovim. I am just curious. Could python have been used instead?

2

In a nutshell: Lua is

  1. tiny – perfect for embedding (as opposed to a remote plugin host)
  2. fast – LuaJIT can be orders of magnitude faster than vimscript (and PUC Lua)
  3. simple – small but expressive syntax (Lua 5.1) made for scripting

Is it the optimal choice? Of course not. But it’s a good choice based on these criteria.

But don’t take my word for it: https://youtu.be/IP3J56sKtn0

7 Likes
3

Wow thanks a lot for your reply clason!

4

I am going to watch the video!

5

Neovim FAQ answers this question . About python I think it’s just too slow and too big. Personaly I avoid python rpc plugins because of performance :slight_smile:

1 Like
6

thanks man! funny i missed that page. i’m also
gonna read that!