Referencing a table through a string in Lua

Question

I need to use a table in Lua, but I can only reference it through a string, example:

tabelaA = { "qualquer coisa" }
variavelA = "tabelaA"

print(variavelA)
resultado: "qualquer coisa"

Bearing in mind that I have no way to reference this table directly, I will get the string name.

Answer 1

Exists the table _G, called the global environment, representing the existing variables:

> print(tabelaA[1])
qualquer coisa
> print(_G["tabelaA"][1])
qualquer coisa

---

Also, you can always build another table:

tabelaVariaveis = {}
tabelaVariaveis["tabelaA"] = tabelaA

-- e pode acrescentar mais
tabelaB = { "outra coisa" }
tabelaVariaveis["tabelaB"] = tabelaB

and use it:

> print(tabelaVariaveis["tabelaA"][1])
qualquer coisa