Can't build conky from source

[Slaggagary]

So, I'm trying to install Conky 1.8.1. Whenever I put in the command ./configure the terminal informs me that:

checking for LUA... no
checking for LUA51... no
checking for LUA51... configure: error: Package requirements (lua5.1 >= 5.1) were not met:

No package 'lua5.1' found

Consider adjusting the PKG_CONFIG_PATH environment variable if you
installed software in a non-standard prefix.

Alternatively, you may set the environment variables LUA51_CFLAGS
and LUA51_LIBS to avoid the need to call pkg-config.
See the pkg-config man page for more details.

The problem is that I already have lua5.1 installed.

I'm pretty new with Linux and I'm not sure how to work my way around this. What do?

[Roken]

Try installing liblua5.1-0-dev

[Slaggagary]

Try installing liblua5.1-0-dev

What would that do?

[Habitual]

allow you to .configure conky.

liblua5.1-0-dev - Simple, extensible, embeddable programming language <--- It's LUA

[Slaggagary]

Well... it worked. Thank you.

Would you explain to me, -very simply, as it were- how installing the previously listed package was any different from having plain Lua5.1 installed?

[Roken]

It's the development package for lua. If you are building a program from source then you will frequently require the development package rather than the binary to build the package. It isn't always made clear in the documentation for self-build.