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Extended Table Module

Extended Table Module - table​

Deep Copy a Table (table.deep_copy)​

Declaration​

copied_table = table.deep_copy(input_table)

Parameters and Return Values​

  • input_table
    • table, the table to be copied
  • copied_table
    • table, the copy of the input table

Description​

Recursively copies the input_table to create its duplicate. All values in the table, except for function and userdata, will be copied.
If the input table contains circular references, the reference relationships will also be copied.

Example​

table.deep_copy
_g = table.deep_copy(_G)

Deep Print a Table (table.deep_print/stringify)​

Declaration​

table_text = table.deep_print(associated_table)  -- Outputs to standard output
table_text = stringify(associated_table)         -- Does not output to standard output, only returns a string

Parameters and Return Values​

  • associated_table
    • table, the table to be printed as a string
  • table_text
    • string, the textual representation of the table’s tree structure

Description​

Prints the tree structure of a table.

note
  • The printed structure does not guarantee format compatibility and may vary between versions.
  • The table.deep_print function outputs content to the print buffer, while stringify does not.
  • Non-table reference types (userdata, functions) cannot be deserialized using table.load_string, and only human readability is guaranteed.

Example​

table.deep_print
local s = table.deep_print(_G)
sys.alert(s)

Load a Table from a String (table.load_string)​

Declaration​

associated_table = table.load_string(table_text)

Parameters and Return Values​

  • table_text
    • string, the textual representation of the table’s tree structure, which can only contain static data and no dynamic code
  • associated_table
    • table, returns the table structure if successful, or nil if failed

Description​

Converts a textual tree structure description into a table object.

note

  • When there are no circular references or non-table reference types, table.load_string is the inverse function of stringify.

  • This function differs from load in that it does not execute code in the text and only uses static data.

  • For example, the following example contains runtime code, resulting in b being nil.

    b = table.load_string[[ {
      a = os.execute('reboot'), -- This code will not execute and will return nil
    } ]]

Example​

table.load_string
local t = table.load_string[[ {
  a = 1,
  b = 2,
  c = 3,
} ]]
sys.alert(t.b)