I'm researching how to best extend a C++ application with scripting capability, and I am looking at either Python or JavaScript. User-defined scripts will need the ability to access the application's data model.
Have any of you had experiences with embedding these scripting engines? What are some potential pitfalls?
It's sure easy to embed Python by using the Boost::Python library (ok, ok, sarcasm.) Nothing is "easy" when it comes to cross-language functionality. Boost has done a great deal to aid such development. One of the developers I've worked with swears on the Boost->Python interface. His code can be programmed by a user in Python, with a REPL built right into the UI. Amazing.
However, my experience has been better observed using SWIG and other languages such as Java. I'm currently working with SWIG to wrap C++ with Python. There's all sorts of gotchas with exceptions, threading, cross-language polymorphism and the like.
I'd look at these two places first. As I said, nothing will be "easy" but both these make life more livable.