Skip to main content

Numbers

Numbers are essential to scripting. This page will explain how numbers work and the difference between a float and an integer.

Number operations​

The basic number operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentation, root, modulo and logarithm are possible within Lua and thus within Polytoria.

Addition​

The addition operation may be done using +

local sum = summand1 + summand2

Subtraction​

The subtraction operation may be done using -

local difference = minuend - subtrahend

Multiplication​

The multiplication operation may be done using *

local product = factor1 * factor2

Division​

The division operation may be done using /

local quotient = dividend / divisor

Exponentation​

The exponentation operation may be done using ^ or math.pow()

local power = base^exponent
local power2 = math.pow(base, exponent)

Root​

The root operation may be done using ^ with an exponent higher than 0, but lower than 1. To perform a nth root you may use the exponent (1/n). For square roots you may use math.sqrt()

local squareRoot = 16^0.5
local squareRoot2 = math.sqrt(16)
local thirdRoot = 27^(1/3)

Modulo​

The modulo operation may be done using %.

local remainder = 14 % 5

Logarithm​

The logarithm operation may be done using math.log()

local logarithm = math.log(antilogarithm, base)

See also​

The Lua 5.2 Reference for more operations possible with a number.

Floats and Integers​

You may have noticed that the documentation mentions float and int, but never number, when Lua only has the numberdata type.

Floats are decimal numbers, while integers are whole numbers. This distinction is important to let you know what kind of information you may give or receive.

Let's take player User IDs as an example: User IDs are whole numbers, but never numbers with a decimal component.

Summary​