Great Linux Scripting Hacks From LinuxPlanet

Having some scripting skills opens up a whole new world of creativity and time-saving hacks. In Linux, UNIX, Free/Open/Net/BSD, and other UNIX-type operating systems the command shell and scripting tools are fundamental parts of the operating system. Learning how to write your own simple scripts isn't that hard, especially when you have a great teacher. Here is a handy reference of some of the excellent howtos by Akkana Peck and Juliet Kemp on LinuxPlanet.

Scripting Best Practices

Juliet Kemp uses some Perl examples to demonstrate techniques for keeping all of your scripts, regardless of what language they are written in, understandable and useful. So that when you look at them six months later, you actually understand what you did, and they still work.

The Joys of xargs

Juliet Kemp explores the incredibly useful xargs command. It takes in input and executes your chosen command on it. Deceptively simple in concept; extremely powerful in execution. Here we'll look at xargs with find, and then at some other possibilities.

Four Easy Fun Useful Things You Can Do With Linux

In this ENP classic, learn how to colorize and test your Bash prompt, run your own local timeserver, deliver customized MOTDs that change, and create elegant ASCII art. Carla Schroder shows you how to do all these things the easy way

Stupid Firefox Tricks, Part I

Akkana Peck shows how you can speed up your Web searches with custom bookmarklets-- you don't need to be an ace coder to create your own; it's easy, fast, and powerful.

Begone Caps Lock and Other Great Keyboard Hacks

LinuxPlanet Classics: Want to get rid of the evil caps lock key without mutilating your keyboard? Want to give those silly Windows keys useful jobs, or put all those extra multi-media keys to work? Want to become a powerhouse keyboarding commando? With Linux you can do all of these things.

Roll Your Own Custom Bookmarklets In Firefox, part 2

Smart Firefox Tricks, part 2: Javascript bookmarklets have been around since the early days of Javascript, and are possible because Firefox and most other modern browsers (except Konqueror) offer the special protocol "javascript:" to let you execute bits of javascript code directly. Akkana Peck shows us how to harness this power to turbocharge our Web-surfing

Why Firefox Rocks on Linux: Great Firefox Tricks, Part III

Firefox has a lot of special features that are written specifically for Linux users. Akkana Peck shares some of her favorites.

Why Firefox Rocks: Great Firefox Tricks, Part IV

Firefox is cram-full of hidden treasures, as we have learned in this series. Today Akkana Peck exposes Firefox's expertise at handling those ridiculously long URLs that plague the Web-- email clients mangle them, copy and paste is a nightmare-- but Firefox has some special tricks that make them easy.

The Linux CLI for Beginners, or, Fear Not the Linux Command Line!

Linux forums, mailing lists, and even howto articles are full of fearful comments against the Linux command line. "Pry my GUI from my cold dead hands!" is all too common. Nobody wants to take your GUI away, because with Linux you get the full power of both. Akkana Peck gives us a friendly introduction to the Linux command line, starting with a lesson on the fastest way to find files.

The Linux Command Shell For Beginners: What is the Shell?

In her last installment, Akkana Peck gave us a friendly introduction to the Linux command line. Today we learn the difference between the console, terminal, and shell, and some slick shortcuts that are faster than a GUI.

Getting Started With Kate, the Friendly yet Powerful Text Editor

Text editors are wonderful, helpful tools for any computer user; they're not just for gurus and coders. They're essential for editing configuration files; you don't want to use a word processor because these insert all sorts of formatting codes that will mess up your files. They're great for quickly dashing off any kind of document that doesn't need all the bells and whistles of a word processor, and for coders and advanced users they contain a wealth of useful shortcuts and helpful features. Juliet Kemp introduces us to one of the better graphical text editors, Kate.

Navigating the Linux Filesystem

You've been reading Akkana Pecks's excellent articles on the nifty tricks you can do in the shell, and you're feeling the power. But one thing has you puzzled-- there are no file icons to click on, so how do you find your files? The Linux filesystem has an orderly structure; come on inside to learn how to navigate it effortlessly from the command line.

Sharing Files in Linux and Understanding Pathnames

Akkana Peck has shown us how pathnames work, the difference between /home and home, and using ls to see the contents of a directory. Today we're going to go all dotty and learn what ../../ means, and how to share, or not share, files with other system users. You'll never be mystified again!

Kate Text Editor-- Advanced Configuration and Command-Line Tips

The Kate text editor is a friendly power tool that is easy to use and configure, and it comes with a giant collection of advanced features. Juliet Kemp dives into keyboard shortcuts, plugins, document variables, its command-line interface and built-in terminal emulator.

Intro to Shell Programming: Writing a Simple Web Gallery

So you're not a programmer, you say? If you can string a few shell commands together, it's not much of a step from there to programming. To demonstrate that, Akkana Peck will take you through the steps of writing a very simple web gallery script: one that will take your images and build a little web page to show them off.

GUI Programming in Python For Beginners: Create a Timer in 30 Minutes

Python programming is all the rage because it is clean, easy to learn, and powerful. It supports creating both command-line and graphical applications, and has at least four good toolkits for writing graphical applications. Akkana Peck introduces us to Tkinter, and shows us how to create an all-purpose timer (for cooking and other reminders for absent-minded geeks) in one lesson

Getting Started With the Kate Text Editor: Kate For Coders

Syntax highlighting is incredibly useful for any kind of coding or scripting; comments, quoted strings, code, and markup are shown in different colours. Juliet Kemp shows us how Kate supports syntax highlighting for a multitude of languages, configuration file types, and even some applications like MySQL and diff.

Writing Plugins for GIMP in Python

Plugins are not mysterious elite geek things, but rather are scripts for automating tasks that you perform frequently. They can be very simple, for example flipping an image upside-down, or as complex as you like. Akkana Peck shows us how to create a simple GIMP plugin using Python.

Creating a Fancy 3D-Effect GIMP Plugin in Python

In parts one and two we learned the basics of writing our own custom Gimp plugins, and learned that it's simple and very useful. Today we'll put it all together in a more complex plugin for creating fancy 3D text effects, to make text look more rounded and three-dimensional.