4.2 – C Closures

When a C function is created, it is possible to associate some values with it, thus creating a C closure (see lua_pushcclosure); these values are called upvalues and are accessible to the function whenever it is called.

Whenever a C function is called, its upvalues are located at specific pseudo-indices. These pseudo-indices are produced by the macro lua_upvalueindex. The first upvalue associated with a function is at index lua_upvalueindex(1), and so on. Any access to lua_upvalueindex(*n*), where n is greater than the number of upvalues of the current function (but not greater than 256, which is one plus the maximum number of upvalues in a closure), produces an acceptable but invalid index.

A C closure can also change the values of its corresponding upvalues.