How to - execute shell scripts on your Android phone

Hi All,

This post explains how to run simple shell scripts on your android phone...

Assume we have a script that generates odd numbers b/w 1 to 10

Here is the script:

i=1
echo $i

while [ $i -lt 9 ]
do
       i=`echo $(($i+2))`
       echo $i
done

Type this content onto a shell (a text file with a .sh extension) using an App called TextEdit written by Paul Mach.

Save the file (test.sh) in your external sd card root folder.

Then you need a shell to run this script.

Download an app called Terminal Emulator from the Google Play store.

So we are set to run our script...

Steps:

1. Open the emulator
2. Give the below commands:

     cd sdcard
     cd external_sd
   
     sh test.sh

3. If there are any errors, you can fix them using the TextEdit once more. Save it and re-run!!

Note:

1. This procedure will work for both rooted and not-rooted phones.
2. The script uses echo command instead of expr command.
3. Since the phone I used to run this script is not rooted - I had to save my files to the card.

Hope you enjoyed scripting on your Android,
Ananth G S