[corysama]

Additionally, it is explicitly a batteries-not-included system. There are lots of libraries for Lua all over the net, but many people stop at "Python's standard library has hundreds of modules including the four I want. Lua's doesn't have the four I want."

Lua's goal is to be no-fat and customizable to only what you need for your unique situation. It's even common practice for systems to cut out stuff like the standard library file I/O module if it's not appropriate for your situation.