James Whitehead & Rick Roe 
World of Warcraft Programming 
A Guide and Reference for Creating WoW Addons

The #1 bestselling programming book is back with updated and
expanded coverage of the newest release of Wo W!

World of Warcraft (Wo W) is currently the world’s largest
massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The newest release,
‘Wrath of the Lich King, ‘ has created a demand for updated
information on writing addons. This eagerly anticipated edition
answers that request and is an essential reference for creating Wo W
addons.

Written by a duo of authors who have each contributed a number
of successful Wo W addons, the book offers an overview of Lua and
XML (the programming languages used to write addons) and includes
coverage of specific pitfalls and common programming mistakes-and
how to avoid them. Valuable examples show you detailed aspects of
writing addons for Wo W and demonstrate how to implement addon
concepts such as variables, slash commands, secure templates, and
more.

* World of Warcraft insiders share their techniques for writing
addons for both the latest version of Wo W as well as the new Wrath
of the Lich King expansion set

* Guides you through the specific nuances of the Wo W API with the
use of detailed examples

* Discusses ways to distribute and host your Wo W addons so others
can download and use them

* Explains how to respond to events, create frames, and use the
Wo W API to interact with the game

You’ll be well on your way to creating exciting Wo W addons with
this comprehensive reference by your side.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are
not included as part of e Book file.

Table of Content

Introduction xxxvii

Part I Learning to Program 1

Chapter 1 Programming for World of Warcraft 3

Chapter 2 Exploring Lua Basics 13

Chapter 3 Basic Functions and Control Structures 39

Chapter 4 Working with Tables 53

Chapter 5 Advanced Functions and Control Structures 77

Chapter 6 Lua Standard Libraries 91

Chapter 7 Learning XML 111

Part II Programming in World of Warcraft 123

Chapter 8 Anatomy of an Addon 125

Chapter 9 Working with Frames, Widgets, and Other Graphical Elements 143

Chapter 10 Saving Time with Frame Templates 171

Chapter 11 Exploring the World of Warcraft API 187

Chapter 12 Interacting with Widgets 207

Chapter 13 Responding to Game Events 243

Chapter 14 Tracking Damage with Combat Tracker 267

Part III Advanced Addon Techniques 283

Chapter 15 Taking Action with Secure Templates 285

Chapter 16 Binding Keys and Clicks to Addon Code 309

Chapter 17 Creating Slash Commands 337

Chapter 18 Responding to Graphic Updates with On Update 351

Chapter 19 Altering Existing Behavior with Function Hooking 359

Chapter 20 Creating Custom Graphics 373

Chapter 21 Responding to the Combat Log and Threat Information 387

Chapter 22 Creating Scroll Frames 413

Chapter 23 Creating Dropdown Menus 431

Chapter 24 Scanning and Constructing Tooltips 451

Chapter 25 Taking Protected Action in Combat 463

Chapter 26 Creating Unit Frames with Group Templates 501

Part IV Reference 537

Chapter 27 API Reference 539

Chapter 28 API Categories 1025

Chapter 29 Widget Reference 1121

Chapter 30 Events Reference 1277

Part V Appendixes 1303

Appendix A Best Practices 1305

Appendix B Utilizing Addon Libraries 1329

Appendix C Tracking History Using Version Control Systems 1339

Appendix D Addon Author Resources 1349

Index 1357

About the author

James Whitehead II, aka Cladhaire, is the creator of
Perfect Raid, Clique, Tom Tom, and Light Headed, and coauthor of
Hacking World of Warcraft.

Rick Roe, aka the crazy goblin tinker Gazmik Fizzwidget,
created Feed-O-Matic, Faction Friend, and some other addons so
awesome that Blizzard rolled their functionality into its new
UI.