Compiling Python for Android Scripting Environment

Android Scripting Environment (ASE) is the scripting language (BeanShell, Python, Lua, Ruby) environment for Android Operating System.

This article is about how to compile python for ASE.

The following instructions are according to the discussion from ASE group.

Compile python for host
To compile python for ASE, you need a Linux machine, then here goes:

Download proper python source distribution (according to the python version in ase/python/src) from http://www.python.org/

Extract the source and run the following command:

$ cd Python-2.6.2
$ ./configure
$ make

Then you have a clean python compiled for your PC (called host system).

Compile python for target
Now we can go to compile python for your Android device (called target system).

Copy the python executable file and the pgen file into ase/python/src folder

$ cd ~
$ cp Python-2.6.2/python ase/python/src/hostpython
$ cp Python-2.6.2/Parser/pgen ase/python/src/Parser/hostpgen

Then we should prepare the compile tools.

First checkout the android source from http://source.android.com/ (name as mydroid), we'll use the cross compile gcc in it's "prebuilt/linux-x86/toolchain/arm-eabi-4.2.1/bin" folder. Another tool is located in "ase/tools/agcc".

Edit .bashrc , add a line to include those compile tools:

export PATH=${PATH}:~/mydroid/prebuilt/linux
-x86/toolchain/arm-eabi-4.2.1/bin:~/ase/tools/agcc

Then start compile python for ASE.

$ cd ase/python
$ ./build.py

Done!