What programming languages can one use to develop Android applications? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate:
Which programming languages can I use on Android Dalvik?

Mostly, Android applications are written in Java. But i heard that its also possible to use Scala or some other languages. And I also read that it's possible to include native C/C++ code.

Is there a refernce/list available that shows which languages can be used?


  • At launch, Java was the only officially supported programming language for building distributable third-party Android software.

  • Android Native Development Kit (Android NDK) which will allow developers to build Android software components with C and C++.

  • In addition to delivering support for native code, Google is also extending Android to support popular dynamic scripting languages. Earlier this month, Google launched the Android Scripting Environment (ASE) which allows third-party developers to build simple Android applications with perl, JRuby, Python, LUA and BeanShell. For having idea and usage of ASE, refer this Example link.

  • Scala is also supported. For having examples of Scala, refer these Example link-1 , Example link-2 , Example link-3 .

  • Just now i have referred one Article Here in which i found some useful information as follows:

    1. programming language is Java but bridges from other languages exist (C# .net - Mono, etc).
    2. can run script languages like LUA, Perl, Python, BeanShell, etc.

  • I have read 2nd article at Google Releases 'Simple' Android Programming Language . For example of this, refer this .

  • Just now (2 Aug 2010) i have read an article which describes regarding "Frink Programming language and Calculating Tool for Android", refer this links Link-1 , Link-2

  • On 4-Aug-2010, i have found Regarding RenderScript. Basically, It is said to be a C-like language for high performance graphics programming, which helps you easily write efficient Visual effects and animations in your Android Applications. Its not released yet as it isn't finished.


Here's a list of languages that can be used to develop on android:

  • Java - primary android development language

  • Kotlin, language from JetBrains which received first-party support from Google, announced in Google I/O 2017

  • C++ - NDK for libraries, not apps

  • Python, bash, et. al. - Via the Scripting Environment

  • Corona- One is to use the Corona SDK . Corona is a high level SDK built on the Lua programming language. Lua is much simpler to learn than Java and the SDK takes away a lot of the pain in developing Android app.

  • Cordova - which uses HTML5, JavaScript, CSS, and can be extended with Java

  • Xamarin technology - that uses c# and in which mono is used for that. Here MonoTouch and Mono for Android are cross-platform implementations of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) and Common Language Specifications.

As for your second question: android is highly dependent on it's java architecture, I find it unlikely that there will be other primary development languages available any time soon. However, there's no particular reason why someone couldn't implement another language in Java (something like Jython) and use that. However, that surely won't be easier or as performant as just writing the code in Java.