Lua scripting

We're working to support Lua as a scripting language for MediaWiki end users, including Wikipedia editors. You can try out the prototype now at http://scribunto.wmflabs.org/.

Rationale
Templates and ParserFunctions were introduced to allow end users of MediaWiki to replicate content easily and build tools using basic logic, effectively turning wikitext into a limited programming language.

However, complex templates have caused performance issues and bottlenecks.

This project aims to make it possible for MediaWiki end-users to use a proper scripting language that will be more powerful and efficient than ad-hoc ParserFunctions-based logic.

See also Scripting, Extension:Scribunto.

Roadmap

 * See relevant portions of Roadmap for latest details on this project.

Documents

 * User requirements: notes
 * Specifications:
 * Software design document:
 * Test plan:
 * Documentation plan:
 * User interface design docs:
 * Schedule:
 * Task management:
 * Release management plan:
 * Communications plan:
 * Status updates
 * Explanation of why Tim's preferred language is Lua
 * /Meeting_2012-01-25