Get table key name from value

Question

I'm trying to get table key name from a value. tostring only returns table: XXXXXXXXX

I tried some functions but nothing work.

config = {
    opt1 = "etc..."
}
players = {}

function openMenu(playerName, configTable)
    players[playerName] = Something to get Table Key...

    -- read the table and create a gui not yet made
end

And next, if I do this :

print(players[playerName])

I want to get this output :

"config"

P.S : That need to work with table's table (myTable = { config = {} }) — NathaanTFM, Jul 13 '15 at 12:21
possible duplicate of [Lua find a key from a value](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7925090/lua-find-a-key-from-a-value) — ryanpattison, Jul 13 '15 at 12:43
It would seem that no one quite understands your question, as the answer and upvotes here would suggest. Could you clarify the difference in your question? — ryanpattison, Jul 13 '15 at 14:50
I'm gonna re-explain. I got a variable and I want to get his name (the variable is a table) — NathaanTFM, Jul 13 '15 at 15:58

score 4 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 13 '15 at 12:35

You will need to iterate over all pairs of the table and return the key if the value is equal. Note that this will only return one binding, even if multiple keys can lead to the same value:

function find(tbl, val)
    for k, v in pairs(tbl) do
        if v == val then return k end
    end
    return nil
end

score -1 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 19 '18 at 19:33

-1

table.find(t, value [,start_index]) -> [key or nil]

answered Jul 19 '18 at 19:33

Fabrizio Stellato

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Get table key name from value

2 Answers2