Copyright 2010 Eric Christopherson
echristopherson at gmail dot com
Licensed under the GNU GPL, version 2
This is a demo of using AutoHotkey with Ruby and DRb (distributed Ruby). It consists of one Ruby script (server.rb) which acts as a DRb server and loads an AutoHotkey script; the AutoHotkey script (ahk_script.ahk), which defines four hotkeys; and another short Ruby script (client.rb) which is called by the AutoHotkey script, and invokes methods on the server Ruby script. In this way, hotkeys cause methods to be called on the server Ruby script.
Make a folder and put these scripts inside it. Download AutoHotkey.dll, if
you don't already have it; it's available at
http://www.autohotkey.net/~HotKeyIt/AutoHotkey/. From the AutoHotkey.dll
archive, copy Win32w\AutoHotkey.dll into the folder these scripts are in.
Finally, register the DLL by opening a command prompt window (press Win+R
followed by cmd and Enter) and cding to the folder the scripts are in, and
then typing regsvr32 AutoHotkey.dll.
Open a command prompt window (as described in Installation) and cd to
the folder the scripts are in. Invoke server.rb, e.g. by typing ruby server.rb. I've only tested this with "MRI" Ruby 1.9, but it should work with
other implementations; if you use a Ruby interpreter called something other
than ruby.exe, make sure to change the name used in the hotkeys defined in
ahk_script.ahk too (the name used here is rubyw, which launches MRI Ruby
without opening a console window).
The included AutoHotkey script, ahk_script.ahk, defines three global hotkeys:
-
Win+Ctrl+A: Display a message box, and a message in the command prompt window where the server is running.
-
Win+Ctrl+B: Display a message box, and a message in the command prompt window where the server is running.
-
Win+Ctrl+C: Display a message box, and a message in the command prompt window where the server is running.
-
Win+Ctrl+X: Display a message box, and a message in the command prompt window where the server is running; then exit the AutoHotkey script and Ruby server script.
Ruby is a dynamic, object-oriented scripting language created by Yukihiro MATSUMOTO.
AutoHotkey (AHK) is a scripting language for Windows which allows you to define hotkeys which trigger actions in GUI programs, along with general-purpose scripting. Its home page is http://www.autohotkey.com.
AutoHotkey.dll is a Windows DLL (dynamic link library) allowing the use of AutoHotkey functionality from other programming languages (as well as allowing an AutoHotkey script to embed another AutoHotkey intepreter). It was created by Naveen Garg (tinku99) and HotkeyIt. It's licensed under the GNU GPL version 2. For more information on AutoHotkey.dll, see http://www.autohotkey.com/forum/topic43049.html and http://www.autohotkey.net/~tinku99/ahkdll/.