Scripting Documentation
From OpenSimulator
Contents |
About OpenSim scripting
An important ingredient in Second Life is scripting. It is the engine that drives it all. In SL LSL (Linden Scripting Language) is the language you have to use. This language has its limitations, and is executed very slowly. But nevertheless it works and it gets the job done.
OpenSim today supports LSL,OSL and C# scripts. But with limitations:
- Not all commands and events have been implemented. See LSL/OSSL Status for details on what commands work and which don't.
- The OpenSim script engine compiles the LSL code down to .Net code that is JIT'ed to CPU native code (in layman's terms, when a script is run on OpenSim, it gets translated to something that the CPU directly can understand.). In effect this means that a LSL script in OpenSim should run faster than in Second Life.
- Stability and security: see Script Execution Sandbox.
How to use scripts in OpenSim
If you have never written a script in LSL before, then please have a look at the LSL wiki to learn the scripting basics. If you do have (some) experience with writing or editing LSL scripts, then the procedure is identical to the procedure on SL.
Known problems:
- Line numbers in error messages may be off by 1 or 2 lines.
- Error messages about scripting errors are often cryptic, and tend to be long.
- Linux/Mac users will need to upgrade the default mono to "mono-complete" in order to have a fully functional scripting engine in OpenSim. See the bug tracker for details.
Additional Resources for Scripting (LSL)
There have been many questions regarding scripts and tools for scripting lately. Presented here are a variety of Links to Resources which will help most people with Scripting LSL.
OpenSimulator Specific Materials:
- LSL/OSSL Status
- OSSL Functions with examples - A good place to start reading about OSSL scripting.
- OSSL_Script_Library A library of scripts which utilize OSSL functions.
Suggested Links for LSL wikis:
Note the Tutorials, Examples & Script Libraries
Off-World Local LSL Editing Tools & Syntax Highlighters
Note: most do not support osFunctions
LSL EDITOR (no osFunctions) 
- Now an Open Source project. New release is February 2012 (Ver.2.44.2). A valuable tool and easy install.
LSL Plus (no osFunctions) 
- Open source Eclipse plugin. Regular updates. Not quite as quick to get installed as LSLEditor, but very good tool.
Notepad++ (osFunctions supported with add-on UDF)
- Windows only Editor with enhanced capabilities & supports most languages. Very powerful & feature rich.
KATE (no osFunctions)
- Free and open source text editor, supporting lots of scriptinmg and programming languages out of the box. This includes LSL.
More editors are listed at http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/LSL_Alternate_Editors
Syntax Highlighting
- GeSHi project home page
- Most current version of GeSHI for download
- GeSHi LSL support file includes osFunctions & updated
- Extra Reference at MediaWiki: GeSHi Syntax Highlighter for WIKI and Forums
Miscelaneous:
- Presentation Board - Simple Presentation Board that slides through inventory textures...
Additional Resources for Scripting (OSSL)
There have been many questions regarding scripts and tools for scripting lately. Presented here are a a few links to Resources which will help most people with OSSL scripting.
- OSSL Functions with examples - A good place to start reading about OSSL scripting.
- OSSL_Script_Library A library of scripts which utilize OSSL functions.
- OSSL_Proposals - Suggestions for custom OSSL functions. Got a suggestion too? Add it!
- Drawing_commands - How to use the texture draw functions supported in OSSL.
- OSSL_TextureDrawing - Details of the OSSL texture drawing functions.
- Language Translation - A script which uses the JSON parsing function to call Google's Translation API
- OSGrid Forums - LSL/OSSL discussions, examples, tips, etc.
How to contribute
The ScriptEngine is being developed by many developers. New developers are always welcome. If you want to contribute, even just a tiny little bit, have a look at the OpenSim.Region.ScriptEngine page. There is a lot of developer activity on IRC (Support), feel free to drop in.
- OSSL Standards - A whitepaper concerning naming-standards for the OpenSim scripting language
- OpenSim.Region.ScriptEngine.Common - How to create your own script engine
- DotNet-Engine - Describes some of the esoteric parts of the DotNet-Engine
See Also
- Scripting Engine - Xengine Script Engine Transition (By Melanie_T)
- Scripting Languages - Supported Scripting Languages
- LSL/OSSL Status - Status and news about LSL and OSSL
- OSSL Enabling Functions - How to enable OSSL functions.
- Threat level - Information about OSSL threat levels.
- Non-LSL scripting - Information on C# and scripting in OpenSim with other languages
