The `bit32` module doesn't work with Lua 5.3

[soapdog]

Bitwise operations in Lua 5.3 are using a different syntax. Maybe it would be better to support both 5.2 and 5.3. This also affects croissant.

[giann]

bit32 is used to ensure compatibility for all Lua versions. What exactly is "not working" with Lua 5.3?

[soapdog]

Luarocks marks bit32 as provided by the VM so when installing sirocco, bit32 is marked as already available. So those local band = bit32.band fail because bit32 is nil. It feels strange doesn't it?

[giann]

Which version of luarocks would that be?

[soapdog]

@giann I cloned it from the master branch yesterday. I've branched it to add support to Windows on Arm and Sirocco is one of the gems I was testing it with.

[sfarajli]

Bit32 library is used for compatibility with all lua versions but it comes with a trade-off, In newer versions of lua they added the native support for what bit32 provides, but the api is different meaning that even for the newer lua implementations bit32 is still a dependency.
I guess that this can be fixed in the source code by checking the lua version and if the version is old only then require the library.

[sfarajli]

I might actually try to send a pr, if needed. But also consider that this will add extra complexity since logic will be involved in the dependency tree.