The definition of TString is

/*
** Header for string value; string bytes follow the end of this structure
** (aligned according to 'UTString'; see next).
*/
typedef struct TString {
  CommonHeader;
  lu_byte extra;  /* reserved words for short strings; "has hash" for longs */
  lu_byte shrlen;  /* length for short strings */
  unsigned int hash;
  union {
    size_t lnglen;  /* length for long strings */
    struct TString *hnext;  /* linked list for hash table */
  } u;
} TString;

/*
** Ensures that address after this type is always fully aligned.
*/
typedef union UTString {
  L_Umaxalign dummy;  /* ensures maximum alignment for strings */
  TString tsv;
} UTString;

/* type to ensure maximum alignment */
typedef union {
  lua_Number n;
  double u;
  void *s;
  lua_Integer i;
  long l;
} L_Umaxalign;

Note:

• TString contains only the metadata of a string. There's no actual string body member defined in the struct.
• There are two types of TString: long string and short string.
• UTString is defined to ensure maximum alignment.

To create a string, first, we check if the string already exist in the global string cache. Only create new string when it's not in the cache.

TString *luaS_new (lua_State *L, const char *str) {
  unsigned int i = point2uint(str) % STRCACHE_N;  /* hash */
  int j;
  TString **p = G(L)->strcache[i];
  for (j = 0; j < STRCACHE_M; j++) {
    if (strcmp(str, getstr(p[j])) == 0)  /* hit? */
      return p[j];  /* that is it */
  }
  /* normal route */
  for (j = STRCACHE_M - 1; j > 0; j--)
    p[j] = p[j - 1];  /* move out last element */
  /* new element is first in the list */
  p[0] = luaS_newlstr(L, str, strlen(str));
  return p[0];
}

If the length of the string is greater than LUAI_MAXSHORTLEN, then it's a long string, else it's a short string

TString *luaS_newlstr (lua_State *L, const char *str, size_t l) {
  if (l <= LUAI_MAXSHORTLEN)  /* short string? */
    return internshrstr(L, str, l);
  else {
    TString *ts;
    if (l >= (MAX_SIZE - sizeof(TString))/sizeof(char))
      luaM_toobig(L);
    ts = luaS_createlngstrobj(L, l);
    memcpy(getstr(ts), str, l * sizeof(char));
    return ts;
  }
}

It's straight forward to create a long string.

TString *luaS_createlngstrobj (lua_State *L, size_t l) {
  TString *ts = createstrobj(L, l, LUA_TLNGSTR, G(L)->seed);
  ts->u.lnglen = l;
  return ts;
}

static TString *createstrobj (lua_State *L, size_t l, int tag, unsigned int h) {
  TString *ts;
  GCObject *o;
  size_t totalsize;  /* total size of TString object */
  totalsize = sizelstring(l);
  o = luaC_newobj(L, tag, totalsize);
  ts = gco2ts(o);
  ts->hash = h;
  ts->extra = 0;
  getstr(ts)[l] = '\0';  /* ending 0 */
  return ts;
}

#define sizelstring(l)  (sizeof(union UTString) + ((l) + 1) * sizeof(char))

Previously, we've noticed that TString does not store the string body as a struct member. Where does the string body actually go?

When we create a string, we allocate a slice of memory with length sizelstring(l), which is the size of TString and the size of the string body. This is a technique called flexible array member. The technique allows us to store the actual string body in the memory space following the TString.

note: C99 standardized flexible array member syntax. However, Lua stuck to ISO C for portability.

On the other hand, Short strings will be stored in the string table strt in the global state because:

• strt is a hash table, which allows us to compare short strings efficiently with only their hash.
• Avoid creating duplicated short strings.
• They can be managed with a separated GCObject linked-list, which makes the GC process more efficient.

#define sizelstring(l)  (sizeof(union UTString) + ((l) + 1) * sizeof(char))

static TString *internshrstr (lua_State *L, const char *str, size_t l) {
  TString *ts;
  global_State *g = G(L);
  unsigned int h = luaS_hash(str, l, g->seed);
  TString **list = &g->strt.hash[lmod(h, g->strt.size)];
  lua_assert(str != NULL);  /* otherwise 'memcmp'/'memcpy' are undefined */
  for (ts = *list; ts != NULL; ts = ts->u.hnext) {
    if (l == ts->shrlen &&
        (memcmp(str, getstr(ts), l * sizeof(char)) == 0)) {
      /* found! */
      if (isdead(g, ts))  /* dead (but not collected yet)? */
        changewhite(ts);  /* resurrect it */
      return ts;
    }
  }
  if (g->strt.nuse >= g->strt.size && g->strt.size <= MAX_INT/2) {
    luaS_resize(L, g->strt.size * 2);
    list = &g->strt.hash[lmod(h, g->strt.size)];  /* recompute with new size */
  }
  ts = createstrobj(L, l, LUA_TSHRSTR, h);
  memcpy(getstr(ts), str, l * sizeof(char));
  ts->shrlen = cast_byte(l);
  ts->u.hnext = *list;
  *list = ts;
  g->strt.nuse++;
  return ts;
}