Selecting An Embedded Language

Question

I'm making an application that analyses one or more series of data using several different algorithms (agents). I came to the idea that each of these agents could be implemented as separate Python scripts which I run using either the Python C API or Boost.Python in my app.

I'm a little worried about runtime overhead TBH, as I'm doing some pretty heavy duty data processing and I don't want to have to wait several minutes for each simulation. I will typically be making hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of iterations in which I invoke the external "agents"; am I better of just hardcoding everything in the app, or will the performance drop be tolerable?

Also, are there any other interpreted languages I can use other than Python?

Answer 1

Yes, tons. Lua and Python seems to be the most popular:

Embedding Lua

• http://www.lua.org/pil/24.html
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/38338/why-is-lua-considered-a-game-language
• Lua as a general-purpose scripting language?

Embedding Python

• http://docs.python.org/extending/embedding.html

Embedding Tcl

• http://wiki.tcl.tk/3474
• http://wiki.tcl.tk/2265

Embedding Ruby

• How to embed Ruby in C++?

Embed Perl

• http://perldoc.perl.org/perlembed.html

Embed JavaScript

• http://spiderape.sourceforge.net/

There are dozens of JavaScript engines around, this is just an example. Some of them are also frighteningly quick.