Attempt to index local 'star1' (a nil value) — I've researched everywhere and don't get it

Question

i've been stuck on this for a while now and really need help. Basically what I'm trying to do is have these objects spawn on screen and then allow the player to drag them around as they want.

At the moment the random objects flow onto screen, however when I try to click on 'star1' I get the error :

Attempt to index local 'star1' (a nil value) How should I do this properly?

Here is my code:

display.setStatusBar(display.HiddenStatusBar)

local physics = require('physics')
physics.start()
--physics.setGravity(0, 0)


_W = display.contentWidth; --Returns Screen Width
_H = display.contentHeight; --Returns Screen Height

local bg = display.newImage('bg1.png')

local starTable = {} 


ship = display.newImage("head.png")
    ship.name = "ship"
    ship.x = -80
    ship.y = 100
    physics.addBody(ship, { isSensor = true })
    ship.bodyType = 'dynamic'
    shipIntro = transition.to(ship,{time=4000, x=200})
    ship.width = 40
    ship.height = 40
    ship.gravityScale = 0

local star1 = display.newImage("acorn")
    star1.name = "star1"
    physics.addBody(star1, { isSensor = true })
    star1.bodyType = 'static'



function initStar()
    local star1 = {}
    star1.imgpath = "acorn.png"
    star1.movementSpeed = 10000
    table.insert(starTable, star1)

    local star2 = {}
    star2.imgpath = "enemyA.png"
    star2.movementSpeed = 12000
    table.insert(starTable, star2);         

    local star3 = {}
    star3.imgpath = "star3.png"
    star3.movementSpeed = 14000
    table.insert(starTable, star3)
end     

function getRandomStar()
    local temp = starTable[math.random(1, #starTable)] 
    local randomStar = display.newImage(temp.imgpath) 
    randomStar.myName = "star" 
    randomStar.movementSpeed = temp.movementSpeed
    randomStar.x = math.random(0,_W) 
    randomStar.y = _H + 50 -- Start the star off screen
    randomStar.rotation = math.random(0,360) 
    starMove = transition.to(randomStar, {
        time=randomStar.movementSpeed, 
        y=-45,
        onComplete = function(self) self.parent:remove(self); self = nil; end
        }) -- Move the star
end




function star1:touch( event )
    if event.phase == "began" then 

        self.markX = self.x   
        self.markY = self.y  

    elseif event.phase == "moved" then

        local x = (event.x - event.xStart) + self.markX
        local y = (event.y - event.yStart) + self.markY

        self.x, self.y = x, y    -- move object based on calculations above
    end

    return true
end

star1:addEventListener( "touch", star1 )

starTimer1 = timer.performWithDelay(1700,getRandomStar, 0)
starTimer2 = timer.performWithDelay(2300,getRandomStar, 0)
starTimer3 = timer.performWithDelay(2700,getRandomStar, 0)      

initStar()

You've created two distinct local variables star1 with the same name. An error-prone style of coding. — Egor Skriptunoff
Hey Egor, I added that to see If I could add a copy of star1 (place it somewhere off screen) and make a functions to just loop the copy. It didn't work but, even still, the error still exists when without the other star1 there. — Dips
Remove the code that isn't relevant and tell us which line the error is complaining about (assuming it gives you that information). That error means at some point you are trying to use the star1 variable but the variable has no contents. — Etan Reisner

Krishna Raj Salim Krishna Raj Salim · Accepted Answer · 2013-08-07T19:53:35

Instead of your code:

  local star1 = display.newImage("acorn")     -- I think line no: 27

Try the following:

  local star1 = display.newImage("acorn.png") --[[ Add image name with 
                                                   suffix/extension  --]]

Keep Coding............. :)

Attempt to index local 'star1' (a nil value) — I've researched everywhere and don't get it

1 Answers