Executing scripts to answer incoming calls is a common way to implement complex FreeSWITCH applications. When you feel you are putting too much of your brain power into constructing complex conditional XML dialplan extensions, it's time to start scripting.

The gist is that you create an extension in the dialplan, and this extension will only be one line: execute the script. Then the script will do it all. As they say: You do your best, script do the rest.

The main advantage of executing a script is that you are using a proper programming language, with all the usual programming constructs required to manage whatever complexity with ease (that's what programming languages are made for).

In this chapter, we'll first have a look at the extensive FreeSWITCH scripting capabilities, and then we'll delve into Lua FreeSWITCH scripting, examining concepts and constructs that will also be useful for the other scripting languages supported by FreeSWITCH.