Scripting Documentation
From OpenSimulator
Contents |
About OpenSimulator 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.
OpenSimulator today supports LSL,OSL and C# scripts. But with limitations:
- Not all commands and events have been implemented. See Scripting System Status below for details on what commands work and which don't.
- The OpenSimulator 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 OpenSimulator should run faster than in Second Life.
- Stability and security: see Script Execution Sandbox.
Configuring scripting
There are a number of parameters that can be tweaked for scripting, such as those which enable OSSL commands or increase the limits on certain script facilities (e.g. listeners).
For standalone and small grid use, the default scripting settings should be fine. See Configuring Scripting for information on configuring these parameters.
How to use scripts in OpenSimulator
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:
- Error messages about scripting errors are often cryptic, and tend to be long.
- List memory optimization hacks like this ... myList = llListReplaceList((myList = []) + myList, ["myString"], 2, 2); ... will fail.
- Linux/Mac users will need to upgrade the default mono to "mono-complete" in order to have a fully functional scripting engine in OpenSimulator. See the bug tracker for details.
Scripting System Status
Status Tables / Charts related to LSL and OSSL functions, constants and related material.
OSSL
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:
- 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:
- lslwiki.net (Historical reference wiki)
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
Miscellaneous:
- 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 OpenSimulator 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 OpenSimulator with other languages
