question: Python or Lua for rejuvenation of old PCs?

[Frank Bechmann]

maybe these links help, even if you have to look at the numbers and
charts w/ some care:

http://dada.perl.it/shootout/craps_mem.html
  quite old win2K machine (partly running cygwin tools)
  Python 2.3.2 vs. Lua 5.0 (and Lua 4.0)
  Lua (both versions, Lua 5.0 is even better) lead on memory usage


http://www.bagley.org/~doug/shootout/craps.shtml?xcpu=0&xmem=1&xloc=0&ackermann=1&ary3=3&wc=3&echo=5&except=1&fibo=2&hash=1&hash2=4&heapsort=4&hello=1&lists=3&matrix=3&methcall=5&nestedloop=4&objinst=5&prodcons=1&random=3&regexmatch=4&reversefile=4&sieve=4&spellcheck=4&moments=2&strcat=2&sumcol=3&wordfreq=5
  even older linux machine
  Python 2.1 vs. Lua 4.0
  Python leads on memory usage

having read your application specs FORTH came to my mind, having the
advantage that it is even more crude, so you have even less chances to
intermix both languages. and no one will doubt that it is usefull for
embedded controller tasks.