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Roberto Ierusalimschy (creator of Lua) was interviewed by Ryan L.

2026-08-03 · 13:05 UTC ·@ryanlpeterman ·1 min read

Brief

Roberto Ierusalimschy, creator of Lua, gave a long-form interview (published 2026-08-03) covering Lua's distinguishing design decisions (00:43; 36:58), JIT fundamentals and challenges (14:20), cross-language call mechanics (30:31), and predictions on AI's impact on languages (51:17). The episode includes recommendations (01:00:10) and is available on YouTube/Spotify/Apple with a transcript at developing.dev.

Why it matters

Roberto Ierusalimschy (creator of Lua) was interviewed by Ryan L. Peterman; the episode was published 2026-08-03 and highlights Lua’s distinguishing design choices (chapters 00:43 and 36:58).

Key details

  • He explained JIT fundamentals and why JIT is hard (14:20), compared Lua with Python (08:35), and described how cross-language calls work (30:31).
  • He offered predictions for AI’s impact on programming languages (51:17) and recommended the top 3 languages to learn (01:00:10); the interview is available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, with a transcript at developing.dev and sponsored by WorkOS.
Source evidence

Roberto Ierusalimschy is the creator of the Lua programming language.

I interviewed him about Lua's unique strengths, programming language design and predictions for how AI will impact programming languages.

In this episode:

• Lua design choices that set it apart
• JIT basics and why it is hard
• Cross-language calls and how they work
• Predictions for AI's impact on programming languages

Where to watch:

• YouTube - piped.video/jCZnFKk6M9A
• Spotify - open.spotify.com/episode/3SW…
• Apple Podcasts - podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
• Transcript - developing.dev/p/creator-of-…

Thank you to the sponsor of this episode for supporting my work:

• WorkOS: makes your app Enterprise Ready with easy to use APIs to add SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more in just a few lines of code, check them out at workos.com/

Chapters:

00:00 - Intro
00:43 - What sets Lua apart
08:35 - Comparing Lua with Python
13:04 - Top book recommendation on language design
14:20 - How JIT works and why it is hard
23:21 - Compiling Python and interpreting C
30:31 - How cross language calls work
36:58 - Lua unique design decisions
51:17 - Predictions for AIs impact on languages
01:00:10 - Top 3 languages to learn to become a better engineer
01:03:21 - Advice for his younger self
01:04:19 - Outro

Video