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.