Could someone help me build a mod?

[AndPherb]

I have no clue on how to mod this game. It's documentation gives me an idea of what's going on, but it doesn't show how elements interact, and lua isn't the programming language I normally use.

[Don]

Tell us about the mod you want

[Blockhead]

Go find mods that do things you want to do and read their source code. That will be a lot easier than trying to learn in a vacuum and compose things together. If you don't know what exactly needs doing, you can just start reading the source code of mods you already use.

[Linuxdirk]

I have no clue on how to mod this game. It's documentation gives me an idea of what's going on, but it doesn't show how elements interact, and lua isn't the programming language I normally use.

Lua is an imperative scripting language that is widely used, often for embedded scripting like in Luanti. And the Luanti API is a large set of functions you use to interface with Luanti using Lua.

Interaction comes from three parts: First is your logic (the code you write to do the things you want it to do), second is the API your code is calling to change or add something to the environment, and third is the individual players using the functionality or items you added.

It’s a good suggestion to get familiar with Lua first. Even if it is simple, it does things different from other languages you might know in a lot of places.

The docs for creators (I will always prefer the raw API documentation due to better searchability and navigation) are aimed toward people already knowing how to use Lua.

You should also read the Luanti Modding Book giving you a great introduction on how to create mods.

[Sheriff_U3]

but it doesn't show how elements interact, and lua isn't the programming language I normally use.

Well if you have any questions about certain functions or elements the just ask about them instead of us guessing. I'd at tools for things like formspecs and schematics, there's some on contentdb for in-world use and others that are stand-alone/browser-based.