From a high-level perspective,
Lua and
Python are similar
languages; both
are "scripting" languages that are compiled into bytecode instructions that run on a
virtual machine. But the focus of Lua has generally been toward embedding
the language into some larger application or system, rather
than as an alternative for, say, Python, Perl, or Ruby as a general-purpose
language. That is not to say that Lua is not capable of handling any of
the tasks those other languages do, but that it has not really been the
target, seemingly. Some recent discussions in the Lua community have
explored possible changes in that regard, particularly around the idea of
providing a larger, richer standard library.