APIs
====

Standard Libraries
------------------

First and foremost you should get familiar with the [[http://www.lua.org/manual/5.3/manual.html|Lua reference manual]], if you are new to Lua. You will find most basic Lua functionality explained there, as well as a bunch of standard library functions.

OpenComputers makes an effort to largely emulate the standard library in areas that would usually interact with the host system - that being the I/O library. There are a few differences, which you can look up here: [[api:non-standard-lua-libs|differences in the standard libraries]]. Most notably, the debug library is mostly unavailable, and `load` only accepts text source files, no binary / pre-compiled Lua programs (for security reasons).

These standard libraries are available in the global environment and thus are immediately available; meaning they do not need to be loaded in your scripts to be accessible.

  * [[api:non-standard-lua-libs#coroutine_manipulation|coroutine]]
  * [[api:non-standard-lua-libs#debug|debug]]
  * [[api:non-standard-lua-libs#input_and_output_facilities|io]]
  * [[api:non-standard-lua-libs#mathematical_functions|math]]
  * [[api:non-standard-lua-libs#operating_system_facilities|os]]
  * [[api:non-standard-lua-libs#Modules|package]]
  * `print` Not a library, but a commonly used standard method for printing text to stdout.

```lua
print("hello world")
```

  * [[api:non-standard-lua-libs#string_manipulation|string]]
  * [[api:non-standard-lua-libs#table_manipulation|table]]

Custom Libraries
----------------

Following is a description of the non-standard libraries, provided for convenience.

Note that you need to `require` all non-standard APIs before you use them, i.e. all modules not listed in the [[http://www.lua.org/manual/5.3/manual.html|Lua reference manual]] nor in [#standard_libraries]. For example, instead of simple going `local rs = component.redstone`, you now need to require the component API, like so:

```lua
local component = require("component")
local rs = component.redstone

--You can of course change the variable name:
local mycomp = require("component")
local rs = mycomp.redstone
```
The same applies for all other APIs listed below (even `sides` and `colors`).

The standard libraries aside, OpenComputers comes with a couple of additional, built-in libraries. Here is a list of all these libraries. Note that some of these may not be usable depending on your configuration (HTTP) and context (Robot library on computers), but they'll still be there.

- [[api:buffer|buffer]]: a Lua `FILE*` API buffer implementation for wrapping streams.
- [[api:colors|colors]]: a global table that allows referencing standard Minecraft colors by name.
- [[api:component|component]]: look-up and management of components attached to the computer.
- [[api:computer|computer]]: information on and interactions with the computer the Lua state is running on.
- [[api:event|event]]: an event system, often used by libraries, for pulling and registering handlers to signals.
- [[api:uuid|uuid]]: creates long unique identifier strings in the common 8-4-4-4-12 format.
- [[api:fileSystem|filesystem]]: abstracted interaction with file system components.
- [[api:internet|internet]]: a wrapper for Internet Card functionality.
- [[api:keyboard|keyboard]]: a table of key codes by name and pressed key tracking.
- [[api:note|note]]: converts music notes between their real name, their MIDI code and their frequency
- [[api:process|process]]: keeps track of running programs and their environments.
- [[api:rc|rc]]: provides automatic program execution and service management.
- [[api:robot|robot]]: abstracted access to robot actions.
- [[api:serialization|serialization]]: allows serialization of values, e.g. for sending them via the network.
- [[api:shell|shell]]: working path tracking and program execution.
- [[api:sides|sides]]: a global table that allows referencing sides by name.
- [[api:term|term]]: provides the concept of the cursor, to read and write from keyboard input and screen output, respectively.
- [[api:text|text]]: provides text utilities such as tab to space conversion.
- [[api:thread|thread]]: provides autonomous and non-blocking cooperative threads.
- [[api:transforms|transforms]]: provides helpful and advanced table manipulators.
- [[api:unicode|unicode]]: provides Unicode aware implementations of some functions in the string library.


Contents
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