LuaJit - Get metatable from module/package and assign it to userdata - c

Question

Say I have this metatable for a custom struct vector2_t which is inside a module mymod like this:
local mymod = {}
local ffi = require("ffi")
local C = ffi.C
ffi.cdef[[
typedef struct
{
double x;
double y;
} vector2_t;
]]
local vector2_t
vector2_t = ffi.metatype("vector2_t", {
__eq = function(lhs, rhs)
if lhs.x == rhs.x and lhs.y == rhs.y
then return true else return false end
end
-- Member functions follow...
})
vcmp.vector2 = vector2_t
-- I use this method because the script is integrated in C/C++ as a string and not
-- as a file and I need a constant name that isn't decided by the file name
package.preload["mymod"] = function(mod) return mymod end
And in another script I have this callback/event listener function which must receive a vector2_t as it's argument:
local mymod = require "mymod"
local some_pos = mymod.vector2(32, 29.7)
-- That pos argument must be an instance of mymod.vector2_t
function position_update(pos)
print("New Pos: " .. pos.x .. ", " .. pos.y .. "\n")
some_pos.x = pos.x
some_pos.y = pos.y
end
Now, I must call that callback/event listener function from C/C++ and pass an instance of that vector2_t (along with it's associated metatable) as the parameter to that function.
typedef struct
{
double x;
double y;
} vector2_t;
void call_position_update(lua_State* L, double x, double y)
{
// Retrieve the function
lua_getglobal(L, "position_update");
// Validate it
if (!lua_isfunction(L, lua_gettop(L)))
{
lua_pop(L, 1);
return;
}
// Create an instance of vector2_t
vector2_t *pos = (vector2_t *)lua_newuserdata(L, sizeof(vector2_t));
// Assign the values to the new instance
pos->x = x;
pos->y = y;
// How do I get the meta table vector2_t on to the stack?
// Reach to the module somehow...
// Get the meta table from the module
luaL_getmetatable(L, "vector2_t");
// Assign the meta table to the vector2_t instance already on the stack
lua_setmetatable(L, -2);
// I'm assuming that the vector2_t instance is already on the stack so there's nothing else to push
// Call the function with 1 argument which should be that vector2_t onto the stack
if (!lua_pcall(L, 1, 0, 0))
{
printf("Error calling function 'position_update': %s\n", lua_tostring(_Lua, -1));
}
}
I'm a bit lost and I don't know how to pas an instance of that vector2_t as the function parameter. I'm sorry for posting so much code bu I wanted to be sure that I explained correctly.

Answer 1

cdata and userdata are completely different things. The only interaction they have is that you can get an FFI void* pointer to userdata. Notably, there is no C API for cdata objects. Mixing them is sure to cause you a lot of headaches.
Pick either the Lua C API or the FFI, and stick to it as much as possible.
To directly answer your question:
how to pas [sic] an instance of that vector2_t as the function parameter
To a Lua C API function, it gets passed on the stack, just like other values. Note that it will be a cdata typed object, not a userdata object. Notably, you can't get a pointer to it.
How do I get the meta table vector2_t on to the stack?
You can't, since you don't make the metatable accessible to outside scripts in your first script. luaL_getmetatable only works with metatables created with luaL_newmetatable