Asynchronous delay in Lua? (like JavaScript setTimeout)

Question

I need to asynchronously delay execution of a function in Lua by X milliseconds. Can this be done?

Given a simple JavaScript example:

setTimeout(function() {
    alert('Hello world!');
}, 5000);

What's the Lua equivalent? Coroutines look like they may help, but I'm not sure.

Answer 1

Lua itself does not include asynchronous event support. If you're embedding Lua in something larger or using it with libraries, they may be able to provide callback support.

Answer 2

Try my lalarm library. It depends on alarm, which works in seconds, but can be easily changed to use ualarm if you have it.