Stripped-down Python (for embedding in an app)?

[Chuck Messenger]

I need to embed a scripting language in an app I'm creating (a gaming app).
The only inputs to the language will come from my app, and the only output
will go to my app.  That is, there will be no OS interaction.  My app is the
OS.

I want to use an already-developed scripting language.  Besides the benefit
of saving on writing my own interpreter, the biggest benefit is that I want
users of my app to be able to reference a mature body of documentation about
the scripting language itself, apart from the hooks into my system.

So, Python looks like a promising candidate.  The main problem with Python
is that I need to strip out all the OS hooks.  This is partly a security
issue, and partly a code size issue.  Mainly the former.  I'm aware of the
rexec() feature of Python.  However, in order to assure myself of the
security of the interpreter, I need to be able to make a Python library
which doesn't reference anything but the most mundane standard C lib calls
(strlen types of functions).

Has any work been done in this direction?  That is, a Python with absolutely
no OS hooks?  Ideally, even memory allocation would come from my app, rather
than malloc.  No file access, including stdio, etc.


    - Chuck