Good scripting language for C++?

[firedraco]

In short, I'm trying to find a scripting language that will allow me to write an AI script or a weapon script for a game I'm making.

Anyone have any good suggestions? I'd rather it be C++ based instead of C if possible (if they have a C++ wrapper that's probably fine).

[S6k9GNh0]

I've been suggested Lua on just about everything when it comes to scripting. That and XML (bleh).

[10oTURfi]

Why not use C++ for scripting? I like the way how Scriptdev2 used C++ for World of Warcraft AI. (as opposed to ArcEmu LUA WoW AI)

[chrisname]

Python and Lua are very commonly used as scripting languages in games. Languages like lisp are commonly used for AI.

For weapons I'd do something like
weapons.dat

#
# weapons.dat -- stores weapon data
#

#	<weapon>	<display>	<damage>	<rounds/clip>
	pistol		Pistol	 	5		15
	shotgun		Shotgun		20		1
	arifle		Assault_rifle	10		30
	srifle		Sniper_rifle	40		1

#
# <weapon>	Weapon name
# <display>	Display name
# <damage>	Damage done at point blank range. To find damage done at a
#		different range, divide by (abs(distance) + 1) and truncate
# <rounds/clip>	Maximum number of rounds fired before reloading
# 

That's what I did once when I wrote a game. I didn't design the code properly so I stopped making the game.

@Krofna,
I wouldn't say C++ was very suitable for scripting.

[firedraco]

I don't think I explained exactly what I needed in the first post...I'd like a scripting language that will allow me to expose some classes/objects into the language and then run a script on them. It would also be nice if I could call C++ functions from it, but I could probably make do without that ability.

[ascii]

Lua is great for that, since it's easy to call C++ accessor functions from your classes so you can easily keep everything encapsulated and still adjust them.

Otherwise, I consider Ruby the king of all scripting languages. Python is okay, but it can be rather performance intensive at times.

Also, might I ask what this is for?

[chrisname]

Wow, Lua sounds good, I should learn it.

As for Ruby & Python; in terms of performance, (C)Python used to be faster than Ruby (version 1.8) but apparently they're about the same now: http://www.wikivs.com/wiki/Python_vs_Ruby#Speed

[ascii]

Hmm, I guess I was wrong there. Anyhow syntax and OOP are better in Ruby :)

[chrisname]

I don't know Ruby so I wouldn't know.

[sohguanh]

Wow, Lua sounds good, I should learn it.

As for Ruby & Python; in terms of performance, (C)Python used to be faster than Ruby (version 1.8) but apparently they're about the same now: http://www.wikivs.com/wiki/Python_vs_Ruby#Speed

Why was Perl not in it? It has a long history too :P

[rapidcoder]

Perl, Python, Ruby all are really slow compared to statically typed languages. I use Scala for all scripting purposes - it is just as terse as Perl / Python / Ruby but has better collection libraries and runs much, much faster. I'd use Lua if I only needed a thin layer of scripting on top of C/C++. I would use Scala if I only needed a thin layer of C/C++ on the bottom.

[1yR4jE8b]

I've been writing a Hybrid RTS/Tactics style RPG with some friends. We're using C# for the main engine and Iron Python for the game-logic and level generation algorithms, it works swimmingly.

[chrisname]

That sounds great.

IronPython is awesome, by the way, much better than standard Python. I <3 .Net/Mono.

[edit]
Do you use an IDE for Python? If so, which one? I've been using Spyder but I don't really like it.

[1yR4jE8b]

I use "Python Tools For Visual Studio" w/ VS2010 : http://pytools.codeplex.com/

It's amazing.

If you don't have Visual Studio 2010 professional, you can use it with the "Visual Studio Shell": http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=115

[chrisname]

Thanks. I'll look into it.