# Ruby in Android - Android Scripting Environment

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-in-android-android-scripting-environment/169853>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [June 9, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-in-android-android-scripting-environment/169853 "2009-06-09T17:17:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![captaffy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@captaffy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/captaffy)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-in-android-android-scripting-environment/169853/1 "2009-06-09T17:17:11Z")

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Some news I came across, check out: [http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2009/06/introducing-android-scripting.html](http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2009/06/introducing-android-scripting.html)  
  
John.  
  
---  
  
The [Android Scripting Environment](http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting "Android Scripting Environment") (ASE) brings scripting languages to Android by allowing you to edit and execute scripts and interactive interpreters directly on the Android device. These scripts have access to many of the APIs available to full-fledged Android applications, but with a greatly simplified interface that makes it easy to:

- Handle intents
- Start activities
- Make phone calls
- Send text messages
- Scan [bar codes](http://code.google.com/p/zxing "bar codes")
- Poll location and sensor data
- Use [text-to-speech](http://eyes-free.googlecode.com/ "text-to-speech") (TTS)
- And [more](http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting/wiki "more")  

  
Scripts can be run interactively in a terminal, started as a long running service, or started via [Locale](http://www.androidlocale.com/ "Locale"). Python, Lua and BeanShell are currently supported, and we're planning to add Ruby and JavaScript support, as well.

---

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**Author:** ![captaffy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@captaffy](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/captaffy)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2009, 6:06pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/ruby-in-android-android-scripting-environment/169853/2 "2009-06-09T18:06:11Z")

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On Tue, Jun 9, 2009 at 10:16 AM, John Slobbe[removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid)  
wrote:

> Some news I came across, check out:  
> [Introducing Android Scripting Environment | Google Open Source Blog](http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2009/06/introducing-android-scripting.html)

The unfortunate thing about this is that those scripts will only work  
from outside apps, not within apps. It doesn’t sound like they’re  
using JVM-based versions of them, so they can only interact at a  
fairly superficial level.

Hopefully we’ll get a few more folks interested in JRuby on Android  
this summer to tie up the remaining loose ends. Then you can actually  
write and script applications with Ruby.

- Charlie