I've been using LUA to create wireshark dissectors by editing the LUA file, filled with PRINT statements, and running Wireshark with the console open to trace the dissector. The edit/test cycle is cumbersome and I do a lot of iteration for simple syntax errors and other things a smart IDE would catch before the test cycle is run.
Is Zerobrane a good option for this? I use LUA exclusively in this context. Can it live debug a Wireshark run?
I did post an example of how ZeroBrane Studio can be used to debug Wireshark script, but it was done long time ago, so not sure if anything has changed in Wireshark Lua support that would prevent this from working. At that time when the script was posted it did allow debugging of a Wireshark run, but there are timeout aspects that may need to be taken into account: since the debugger blocks Lua execution while you step or evaluate values, the results may be affected by Wireshark timeout logic.
In terms of catching syntax errors earlier, you can definitely use static analysis in the IDE to catch syntax errors, variable typos, and some other errors.