You could also take a look at a language called LUA. It's also intended
for embedded applications, but seems more modern than Tcl. For instance,
it can compile to byte-code, just like Java, resulting in better
performance (I assume). I recently downloaded the source of botht e
compiler and interpreter, and I was very positively surprised by its
quality. It compiled on my Mac without as much as a warning, and ran
first time! It definitely deserves to be checked out.

Regards,
Mike

* What is Lua?
  Lua is a simple, yet powerful, language for extending applications.
  Lua has been developed by TeCGraf, the Computer Graphics Technology
Group
  of PUC-Rio, the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
  Dozens of industrial products developed by TeCGraf use Lua.

* Some features of Lua
  + a simple, pascal-like, syntax
  + powerful data description constructs (e.g., associative arrays)
  + user-controlled type constructors
  + fallbacks for extending the language in unconventional ways (e.g.,
    inheritance, overloading)
  + garbage collection
  + Lua programs are compiled into bytecodes, which are then interpreted
  + portable, written in ANSI C (runs in Unix, DOS, Windows, Mac, Cray,
...)

* Availability
  The latest version of Lua is always available at the following
locations:
  In Brazil:    ftp://ftp.icad.puc-rio.br/pub/lua/lua.tar.gz
  In Canada:    ftp://csg.uwaterloo.ca/pub/lhf/lua/lua.tar.gz
  In Germany:   ftp://ftp.uni-trier.de/pub/languages/lua/lua.tar.gz
  In Greece:    ftp://ftp.ntua.gr/pub/lang/lua/lua.tar.gz
  Home page:    http://www.inf.puc-rio.br/~roberto/lua.html
  The current version is 2.5.