A tool set featuring libraries and application-packaging capabilities along with speed enhancements to JRuby itself are in development, said Charles Nutter, JRuby architect at Engine Yard. JRuby is an implementation of Ruby for the Java Virtual Machine.

"Android runs Java, and anywhere that Java goes, JRuby can go, so we've been working on Android support for Ruby," Nutter said. JRuby already runs on Android via the Dalvik JVM, but further improvements are needed to enable application development, Nutter said. Currently, only simple systems like an interactive console can run on Android via JRuby.

If the project comes to fruition, applications could be built for Android, such as a Twitter client or perhaps a personal information manager or mail client, he said.

"We'd like it to be possible to build any application [with JRuby] that they would build with Java on Android. That's the goal," he said. The project, though, has just started and its release will be demand-driven, Nutter said. The tool set would be added to JRuby itself.