Lua question: pairs() vs ipairs()

[Marcus]

So I finally decided to truly learn Lua and I'm a little bit confused. From what I can tell, ipairs() seems to be more useful for iterating over a table setup as an array, for example:

 

arrayVar = {"Gold", "Silver", "Bronze"}

 

And pairs seems to be more useful for iterating over a standard table (keys and value), for example:

 

tableVar = {["Gold"] = 1, ["Silver"] = 2, ["Bronze"] = 3}

 

It appears that pairs also does well with an array style table too, but ipairs does not do well with a key-value table.

 

Am I on the right track or am I misunderstanding this?

[macklebee]

The difference between ipairs and pairs

[Marcus]

Thank you. That was much clearer than the results I got when I googled it. The explanation is also a little bit better than the one in the book, Programming in Lua.