Android scripting on-the-go is go

Editing scripts on the go with Android Scripting Environment Google has announced the Android Scripting Environment (ASE) which allows Android users to write and run scripts in Python, Lua and BeanShell on an Android phone. Scripts have access to many of the Android APIs and are able to start activities, send text messages, make phone calls and read location and other sensor information.

The idea behind ASE is to allow developers to work with Android to build simple applications with only a phone to hand, rather than being tied to using a PC running the Android emulator. The ASE is a basic editor application with a script manager. It is able to install scripts as shortcuts on the Android home page, making finished scripts easy to start. Of the languages available in ASE, only BeanShell has direct access to Android's Java API, but Python and Lua are able to access selected parts of the API through a JSON RPC bridge, AndroidFacade, to a proxy service, AndroidProxy.

Example scripts shown include a Lua script that disables the phone's ringer if you place it face down and a Python script which reads out Google Talk chat. The Android Scripting Environment is not available in the Android Marketplace yet, but can be downloaded from the ASE project page on Google Code. ASE is licensed under the Apache 2.0 licence.

(djwm)