[glob2-devel] Embedded scripting language (again)

[Bradley Arsenault]

I know this has been discussed before, again and again, but I think
its about time we start taking it serioussly: I would like to begin
work on embedding a scripting language in the 1.1 branch. So, lets
stop the theorieticall stuff, most scripting languages, such as
python, are going to be more portable than c++, and are very unlikely
to cause determinism issues. And, if the language in question does
cause a determinism issue, i can pick it up and change it early.

I suggest we start looking at this from a dependancy standpoint. I
would like to see python in the system, because of Boost.Python, it
would be very easy to embedd, and the power, ease of use and
portability of python makes it an ideal candidate. On the downside,
python is a very large dependancy.

There are certainly other languages, however. Lua is much more
compact, but I'm much less familiar with lua. Its interface isn't bad,
and things such as lua++ and luapp will make it easy to embedd, not as
easy as python.

I've heard you ask about the language Squirrel. I've looked into it,
and it seems like a very nice, compact language, quite elegant by my
standards, especially for a C-derived syntax. Then there is scheme.
Scheme is very compact, like lua, infact its possible to import the
entire language into our project as a single file, although we would
be unlikely to do so. The language does have a lisp syntax, making it
somewhat different than what we are used to.

What should we pick? Don't think of it as a determistic or statespace
problem, all the languages i've looked into can provide us with the
assurrances we need. Think of it as a dependancy and usability review.
We should decide now, and I can begin work soon.