So, you want to get into scripting for Second Life, one of the most-popular virtual worlds? Need to pizzazz that plywood cube, or create something a little more complex such as a HUD for texturing mesh clothing? Let's discuss what has helped me with scripting with Linden Scripting Language (LSL).

IDE:

For this, I greatly prefer the editor and external editor options that exist in the Firestorm or Alchemy viewers. You can customize the UI, insert things, and get error messages and test immediately. You also have the option to use a pre-processor in both viewers.

If you want to use something like Visual Studio Code, I recommend using one of these extensions:
https://github.com/Minuit-Ferina/vscode-lsl
https://github.com/jyaoma/vscode-lsl

Other popular IDEs include Sublime Text and NP++.

Optimizer:

I recommend using PyOptimizer. You can download it and even use it in your browser here:http://lsl.blacktulip-virtual.com/lsl-pyoptimizer/

It is written in Python 2.7, and supports supports code memory optimization for Mono. There are many reasons to use it, check out their website above for the full details.

Alchemy and Firestorm also include optimizing in their pre-processor.

Wikis, Documentation, and Free Scripts:

There are many places to learn about LSL and how it works.

First, you need the official and most up-to-date documentation that's found on the SL wiki here:https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/LSL_Portal

You can also get many free scripts online. I'll link to some of my favorite websites:

• LSL Library:https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Category:LSL_Library
• SL Forums:https://community.secondlife.com/forums/forum/305-lsl-library/
• OutWorldz:https://www.outworldz.com/cgi/freescripts.plx
• DigiWorldz:http://lslwiki.digiworldz.com/lslwiki/wakka.php?wakka=scriptlibrary

You may also be able to find other LSL code or snippets on GitHub or other code-sharing sites.

In-World Groups:

You can also make use of groups in-world. I recommend searching for these inside the viewer, as it is otherwise hard to link to them outside of SL. There are many groups out there, so feel free to search for others as well.

• Builder's Brewery
• Script Academy

Ideas:

So, let's get down to business. The best way to learn scripting is to script, so let's look over some ideas. And feel free to put your own spin on things!

• A painting that looks different depending on which day of the week it is, or perhaps on holidays (texturing, date checking)
• An object that alerts you when the simulator hosting the region is rebooted
• A HUD that changes the appearance of furniture in a home, and the listener inside the furniture (texturing, contacting other objects)
• A pet that you can wear, and interacts with other people on a touch event (anti-spam measures, chat or hover text)

What's Next?

I'll be writing more posts on how to make various things with this language, so stay tuned!