The OpenOffice productivity suite can use a variety of scripts and macros to automate recurring tasks. The easiest approach is to use the integrated Basic dialect. This article helps you get started with this surprisingly sophisticated programming language.

Many users turn to GIMP for pictures in the window, but some may not realize GIMP also has scripting capabilities that allow you to automate recurring tasks. The Python scripting language is a useful alternative to the GIMP’s integrated Lisp dialect.

The Qt toolkit from Trolltech sports features that appeal to any developer’s needs, but one of the most fascinating and powerful parts of the toolkit is the QCanvas class.

Most admins tend to use the shell, Perl,or Python if they need a system administration script. But there is no need for web programmers to learn another language just to script a routine task. PHP gives admins the power to program command-line tools and even complete web interfaces.