Glossary (GLOSSARY)

Normative terms follow this table; implementation details are in the “Where implemented” column.

Core architecture

Term	Meaning	Where implemented
ZLua	C# ↔ Lua (PUC-Rio 5.1–5.5, etc.) interop framework for Unity; Editor uses Mono, Player uses Il2Cpp	Packages/com.code-philosophy.zlua
Lua-visible semantics	Observable script-side behavior contract; Mono and Il2Cpp must match	spec/**
Dual runtime	ZLua.Mono (Editor) + ZLua.Il2Cpp (Player); facade LuaAppDomain	spec/00-OVERVIEW.md
libil2cpp/zlua	Root of Player-side native implementation	build-win64/.../libil2cpp/zlua
GetFunction	C#→Lua: LuaAppDomain.GetFunction<T> binds a Delegate by module and method name	spec/01-HOST-API.md
MethodBridge	Lua→C# method bridge; Il2Cpp reuses stubs by ReducedType; Mono Emits per member	impl/codegen/

Types & naming

Term	Meaning	Where implemented
CSharp root table	Global table; __index lazily loads assembly → type	spec/02-TYPE-SYSTEM.md §2
Type table (typeTable)	Static facade table from CSharp[assembly][typeFullName]	§3.1
typeFullName	CLR full name; . for namespaces; + for nested types	§2.3
typeArg	Arg describing a C# type in zlua APIs: type table / zlua.types.* / mscorlib string	spec/05-LIB.md §3
Facade (view)	Declared type exposed by userdata; may differ from runtime concrete type	spec/marshal/06-CLASS.md
__typeid	Type id for closed generics, arrays, etc. that cannot be reverse-looked up from string alone	TypeRegistry
Intern	Same make_*_type args return the same type table on repeated calls	TypeRegistry

Metatables & indexing

Term	Meaning	Where implemented
SMT	Static Metatable: static metatable on the type table	spec/metatable/01-LAYOUT.md
IMT	Instance Metatable: metatable on instance userdata	same
Three-table indexer	Dispatch via methodTable / fieldGetterTable / fieldSetterTable (Mono)	spec/metatable/02-INDEX.md
Il2Cpp native indexer	Dispatch* C closures + NameMetaMap (MetaBinding / TypeRegistry)	impl/metatable/INDEXER-IL2CPP.md
__index miss	Unregistered member → returns nil (no reflection fallback)	spec/metatable/02-INDEX.md
__newindex miss	Unregistered / non-writable member → error	same
Bind-time flattening	Public members along the inheritance chain are written into the current type’s three tables at EnsureBinding; no runtime walk upward	spec/02-TYPE-SYSTEM.md §5
dispatch closure	Runtime dispatch closure bound to the default method name when multiple overloads exist	spec/04-METHOD-OVERLOAD.md
direct method closure	Bridge closure for a single overload, full-signature key, or alias; may use register_method	MetaBinding
Full-signature key	Auto-attached Name(Type.FullName,…) direct key when multiple same-name candidates exist (excludes return type)	spec/04-METHOD-OVERLOAD.md §3.7

Marshal shapes

Term	Meaning	Where implemented
ByVal	Value-type payload userdata (struct copy semantics)	spec/marshal/05-STRUCT.md
ByObj	Managed reference / boxed value userdata via ObjectRegistry	spec/marshal/06-CLASS.md
OpaqueValue	Temporary lightuserdata without metatable (ref/in/out or explicit annotation)	spec/marshal/04-OPAQUE.md
StructHandle	Opaque lightuserdata for struct on the default C#→Lua path (valid within the sync call chain)	same + struct booklet
ReducedType	Key for Il2Cpp bridge stub reuse by simplified signature; Mono does not reuse this way	impl/codegen/
ConversionKind	C# implicit conversion category used by overload dispatch	spec/04-METHOD-OVERLOAD.md §3.6

Registry & lifetime

Term	Meaning	Where implemented
ObjectRegistry	ByObj userdata slots + (identity, view) weak cache + GC root	spec/10-LIFETIME.md
StructRegistry	non-blittable struct userdata copies and GC scanning (Il2Cpp: NotBlittableStructRegistry)	same
OpaqueParameterScope	Generation domain for opaque handles while C# calls Lua	OpaqueValueMarshal
Single lua_State	Host defaults to one main state; cross-thread must follow frame pump / sync rules	§10 §4

Host API

Term	Meaning	Where implemented
GetFunction<T>	Formal C#→Lua entry; returns MulticastDelegate; caller caches it	spec/01-HOST-API.md
[LuaMarshalAs]	Marshal annotation on params / return values / fields / properties	spec/marshal/02-MARSHAL-AS.md
[LuaAlias]	Appends a final Lua name for a method; may collide with default/other aliases; grouped into overloads by name	spec/04-METHOD-OVERLOAD.md §5
Delegate bridge	C#→Lua call path: GetFunction binds a function as a closed delegate then Invoke	spec/marshal/09-FUNCTION.md

Explicitly unsupported (rewrite rules)

Term	Meaning
Event-specific metatable	No { get, set, fire } subtable; use ordinary add_EventName / remove_EventName methods
Runtime inheritance promotion	Instance members are not looked up and cached along the chain on __index miss; use Bind-time flattening instead

Doc abbreviations

Abbr	Path
SPEC	Docs/spec/**
IMPL	Docs/impl/**
MT	Docs/spec/metatable/**
MAR	Docs/spec/marshal/**