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== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Overview] == | == [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Overview] == | ||
This is a relatively brief beginner's guide to the Squirrel language (v3.2) aimed at people with | This is a relatively brief beginner's guide to the Squirrel language (v3.2) aimed at people with no programming experience interested in trying their hand at [https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/VScript VScript]. The only prerequisite knowledge you are expected to have is basic knowledge of the Source engine. While in theory this guide is not technically specific to any Source game in particular, it is for version 3.2 which is unique as TF2's version of Squirrel. L4D2, Portal, and other Source games run on older versions, so in practice this guide is directed at TF2 players. If you're following this guide for another Source game that's perfectly fine, just be aware that some features may not function, or they might behave differently in your game's version of Squirrel. You'll also need to store your .nut files in the appropriate place of whatever game you're using, rather than the tf/scripts/vscripts folder. | ||
If you already have experience with C-like languages or programming in general I would recommend you visit the [http://squirrel-lang.org/squirreldoc/reference/index.html Squirrel Reference Manual] for a more expedient learning experience aimed at developers. | If you already have experience with C-like languages or programming in general I would recommend you visit the [http://squirrel-lang.org/squirreldoc/reference/index.html Squirrel Reference Manual] for a more expedient learning experience more aimed at developers. | ||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Getting Started] == | == [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Getting Started] == | ||
While it's possible to compile the Squirrel source code into binaries with which you can test your code outside of a Source game, simply launching a game and executing your script is much simpler and allows | While it's possible to compile the Squirrel source code into binaries with which you can test your code outside of a Source game, simply launching a game and executing your script is much simpler and allows us to test game specific code, so that's what we'll do for the duration of the guide. For guides on VScript itself, the VDC has an excellent collection: | ||
* [https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/VScript_Fundamentals VScript Fundamentals] | * [https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/VScript_Fundamentals VScript Fundamentals] | ||
* [https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Entity_Scripts Entity Scripts] | * [https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Entity_Scripts Entity Scripts] | ||
Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
* [https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Team_Fortress_2/Scripting/VScript_Examples/en VScript Examples] | * [https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Team_Fortress_2/Scripting/VScript_Examples/en VScript Examples] | ||
To get set up, navigate to your tf/ directory and add a scripts/vscripts folder if it doesn't already exist and create a file with any name with the extension .nut. | To get set up, navigate to your tf/ directory and add a scripts/vscripts folder if it doesn't already exist and create a file with any name with the extension .nut. | ||
You should have a location something like this: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf\scripts\vscripts\testing.nut | |||
You should have a location something like this: | |||
Go ahead and launch your favorite Source game which supports VScript and load into any map on a local server, then bind any key to "script_execute testing". | |||
For example: bind 5 "script_execute testing" | |||
Tab out of your game, open your .nut file and type: | Tab out of your game, open your .nut file and type: | ||
Line 28: | Line 25: | ||
</syntaxhighlight> | </syntaxhighlight> | ||
Save the file then go back in game and press your bind, you should see your text in console! | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Variables] == | |||
Every program in any programming language is comprised of a set of instructions called statements which manipulate data to produce a desired result. Programs store data into regions of memory as objects. Objects which we give an identifier (name) in our programs are called variables. You can think of statements as analogous to sentences in the language we speak to each other, each requires a specific set of items to be considered valid, and each is ended with a specific character. Sentences are mostly ended with periods, and statements always end with a semicolon. | |||
Identifiers have a few considerations to keep in mind: | |||
* '''They are case-sensitive, wep is not the same as WEP''' | |||
* '''The first character must be alphabetical (a-z) or an underscore, afterwards they can have any combination of (a-z), (0-9), or underscores''' | |||
* '''Underscores are the only special character allowed, nothing else''' | |||
'''Valid Identifiers:''' | |||
* INDEX | |||
* _weapon | |||
* weapon_sequence | |||
* player123 | |||
'''Invalid Identifiers:''' | |||
* starting-index | |||
* 1_ring_to_rule_them_all | |||
* BOLD&BRASH | |||
* $IMBATMAN | |||
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: | In addition, identifiers cannot be the same name as a keyword, which are special identifiers reserved by the language for its use in the syntax. We'll go over most of these throughout the guide, so don't worry about memorizing them just yet. | ||
{| class="wikitable" style="width:75%; margin:auto; text-align:center font-weight:bold; font-size:125%" | |||
|+Keywords | |||
|base | |||
|break | |||
|case | |||
|catch | |||
|class | |||
|clone | |||
|- | |- | ||
| | |continue | ||
|const | |||
|default | |||
|delete | |||
|else | |||
|enum | |||
|- | |- | ||
| | |extends | ||
|for | |||
|foreach | |||
| | |function | ||
|if | |||
|in | |||
|- | |- | ||
| | |local | ||
|null | |||
|resume | |||
| | |return | ||
|switch | |||
|this | |||
|- | |- | ||
| | |throw | ||
|try | |||
|typeof | |||
| | |while | ||
|yield | |||
|constructor | |||
|- | |- | ||
| | |instanceof | ||
|true | |||
|false | |||
| | |static | ||
|__LINE__ | |||
|__FILE__ | |||
|- | |- | ||
| | |rawcall | ||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
|} | |} | ||
<div style="margin-top: 50px;">To define a variable with x as it's identifier, we use the <code>'''local'''</code> keyword:</div> | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;"> | |||
local x; | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
We created our variable in this statement but we haven't given it a value, so currently the value for x is <code>'''null'''</code>, which is a special value representing the lack of a value. To give our variable an actual value we have two options; we can set it at the time of definition (which is called initialization), or we can assign it a value with the assignment (<code>'''='''</code>) operator in a separate statement, or both! | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
local x; | |||
local y = 10; | |||
x = 5; | |||
y = 0; | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
Here we define x and initialize y to 10, and then set x to 5 and y to 0 afterwards. | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Comments] == | |||
A comment is a human readable note which was inserted by a programmer to denote the what, how, or why behind code. Comments are ignored by the compiler and only serve to make the code easier to understand or use for programmers. Comments come in two flavors: single line and multi line comments. Single line comments go until they hit a new line character (\n). Multi line comments have a start and end token, anything between them is commented out. | |||
To insert a single line comment, prefix it with <code>'''//'''</code> or <code>'''#'''</code>. | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c#" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
// I'm a comment that takes the whole line | |||
local darth_variable = 404 # I'm an inline comment | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
To insert a multi line comment, use <code>'''/*'''</code> to start and <code>'''*/'''</code> to end. | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
/*I | |||
am | |||
a | |||
multi | |||
line | |||
comment | |||
*/ | |||
local foo = 2; | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
You can "nest" single line comments, but you can't do this with multi line comments | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
//////////////////////// okay | |||
/* // okay */ | |||
/* /* not okay */ */ | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
The compiler will end the multi line comment at the first end token (*/) it sees, so the second one is outside of any comments and results in a compile error. | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Data Types] == | |||
Data stored in variables can have a number of different types which determines what type of object it is and what you can do with it. Below is the full list of data types in Squirrel, however we will only go over the primitive ones in this section. The other data types will receive their own sections later in the guide. | |||
'''Data Types:''' | |||
* Null | |||
* Integer | |||
* Bool | |||
* Float | |||
* String | |||
* Table | |||
* Array | |||
* Function | |||
* Generator | |||
* Class | |||
* Instance | |||
* Thread | |||
* Userdata | |||
To get a variable's data type as a string (see below on strings), you can use the <code>'''typeof'''</code> operator. | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c#" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
local t = typeof 5; // "integer" | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
<hr> | |||
<span style="font-size:120%">'''Null'''</span> | |||
Has one value: <code>'''null'''</code>, it represents the non-existence or lack of a value. | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c#" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
local x; // null | |||
local y = 5; | |||
// ... | |||
y = null; | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
<hr> | |||
<span style="font-size:120%">'''Integer'''</span> | |||
Represents a 32 bit whole number, meaning it can store any value from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647. You can specify the integer base as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hexadecimal hexadecimal] by prefixing with <code>'''0x'''</code> or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octal octal] with <code>'''0'''</code>. You can also specify [https://www.asciitable.com/ ASCII] char codes between single quotes '''<code>'</code>''' which will be stored as their integer value. | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c#" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
local x = 12345; // Decimal | |||
local y = 0xFFFFFF; // Hexadecimal begins with 0x | |||
local z = 050; // Octal begins with 0 | |||
local c = 'a'; // Char code stored as 97 | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
These are all integer '''literals''', which are hard coded pieces of data within a program for a specific data type. Other types have literals as well which you'll see in the examples below. | |||
<hr> | |||
<span style="font-size:120%">'''Bool'''</span> | |||
Has two values: <code>'''true'''</code> and <code>'''false'''</code>. | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c#" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
local is_stuck = false; | |||
local should_round = true; | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
<hr> | |||
<span style="font-size:120%">'''Float'''</span> | |||
Represents a 32 bit floating point number, meaning it can store any decimal value from 1.18e-38 to 3.4e38. Due to how floating point numbers are stored in memory, they have a limited amount of accuracy for a certain number of significant digits, for a 32 bit float it's usually around 6 or 7 digits. Any additional digits for the float value may result in rounding errors and precision loss. Keep this in mind when you're working with floats. | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c#" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
local float1 = 1.23456; // 1.23456 (Regular float literal) | |||
local float2 = 1.2e34; // 1.2e+34 (Scientific notation float literal) | |||
// Precision loss | |||
local float3 = 1.234567; // 1.23457 | |||
local float4 = 1234.567; // 1234.57 | |||
local float5 = 123456.7; // 123457 | |||
local float6 = 12345678999.0; // 1.23457e+10 | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
You cannot have a leading floating point for float literals, they must start with at least one digit. | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c#" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
// Invalid | |||
local float1 = .123; | |||
local float2 = .12E5; | |||
// Valid | |||
local float3 = 0.123; | |||
local float4 = 0.12E5; | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
<hr> | |||
<span style="font-size:120%">'''String'''</span> | |||
Strings are a sequence of characters with any length between quotation marks <code>"</code>. Strings are immutable, meaning they cannot be modified and you must create a new string if you need to change the old one. Regular strings must begin and end on the same line, they cannot contain any new line characters (\n). | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c#" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
// Strings ... | |||
local str1 = "'''@!(&(*@!%&!(%!%(%&FJSGADFJKL@fadjsh141a=-"; // String | |||
local str2 = "123"; // String with number characters, not an integer | |||
local str3 = "a"; // String | |||
local str4 = ""; // Empty string | |||
// ... compared to char codes | |||
local int1 = 'a'; // NOT a string | |||
local int2 = ''; // Compile error | |||
local int3 = '''; // Compile error | |||
local int4 = '\''; // 39, Valid char code for ' (explained below) | |||
// Need to make a new string if we want to modify | |||
local name = "bar"; | |||
name = "barber"; | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
Strings (and char literals) may contain [https://en.cppreference.com/w/c/language/escape escape sequences], which special are characters that denote that something special should happen. Even though they have multiple characters in their definition, they count as one character when actually in use. | |||
Here are the ones you're most likely to use: | |||
* <code>'''\t'''</code> - Display a tab | |||
* <code>'''\n'''</code> - Move to a new line | |||
* <code>'''\\'''</code> - Insert \ char | |||
* <code>'''\"'''</code> - Insert " char | |||
* <code>'''\''''</code> - Insert ' char | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c#" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
local text = "Hello there! Please enter your class:\t"; // Tab | |||
local text2 = "What do you mean you don't \"have one\"?\n"; // " char and new line | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
There may come a time when you need a string that does not interpret escape sequences or that can span multiple lines, which is where verbatim strings come in handy. Verbatim strings begin with <code>'''@"'''</code> and end with a regular quote <code>'''"'''</code>. | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c#" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
local mystring = @"eenie | |||
meenie | |||
minie | |||
moe"; | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
You may also need to add quote characters within the verbatim string, to do so you double up each quotation <code>'''""'''</code>. The double quote will be replaced with a single quote by the compiler. | |||
<syntaxhighlight lang="c#" line="1" start="1" style="font-weight:bold;> | |||
local mystring = @"eenie | |||
""meenie"" | |||
minie | |||
moe"; | |||
</syntaxhighlight> | |||
<hr> | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Operators] == | |||
! != || == && >= <= > | |||
<=> + += - -= / /= * | |||
*= % %= ++ -- <- = & | |||
^ | ~ >> << >>> ?: <=> in instanceof typeof , | |||
-, ~, !, typeof , ++, -- highest | |||
/, *, % … | |||
+, - | |||
<<, >>, >>> | |||
<, <=, >, >=, instanceof | |||
==, !=, <=> | |||
& | |||
^ | |||
&&, in | |||
+=, =, -=, /=, *=, %= … | |||
, (comma operator) lowest | |||
IntegerLiteral ::= [1-9][0-9]* | '0x' [0-9A-Fa-f]+ | ''' [.]+ ''' | 0[0-7]+ | |||
FloatLiteral ::= [0-9]+ '.' [0-9]+ | |||
FloatLiteral ::= [0-9]+ '.' 'e'|'E' '+'|'-' [0-9]+ | |||
StringLiteral ::= '"'[.]* '"' | |||
VerbatimStringLiteral ::= '@''"'[.]* '"' | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Expressions] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Intro to Functions] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Intro to Objects] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Scope] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Control Flow] == | |||
if/else if/else | |||
for | |||
foreach | |||
while | |||
do while | |||
switch | |||
break | |||
continue | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Exceptions] == | |||
try catch | |||
throw | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Enums] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Arrays] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Tables] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Functions] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Generators] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Delegation] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Weak References] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Classes] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Inheritance] == | |||
== [https://sigwiki.potato.tf/index.php?title=An_Introduction_to_Squirrel Metamethods] == |