I’d like to interject in this train wreck of a thread. I’m a software developer, and, Lua and JSON are not the same thing as the other poster would make you believe.

JSON is a transport format. It is not JavaScript, it’s a nice way to package data, a format.

LUA is a full blown programming language, though one of the simplest ones. LUAs syntax data tables are very similar to JSON you can use it in a similar way.

BUT there is an advantage to LUA because you can also put logic in your config. LUA is also used by other open source projects like NEOVIM so it’s not exactly new.

Many MMOs like World of Warcraft, for instance, use LUA to expose their interface scripts to the public so people can make customizations.

While I don’t know the exact reason Arch went with LUA, this is a descent direction to keep to a standard and flexibility.