  The emergence of R, a freely available data analysis environment, brought to
the researcher in any science field a set of well-concerted instruments of
immense power and low cost. In botany and zoology, these instruments could be
used, for example, to speed up work in two distant but related fields: analysis
of DNA markers and preparation of natural history manuals. Both of these tasks
require a significant amount of monotonous work, which could be automated with
software.
  I developed "Ripeline and "Rmanual," two highly customizable R-based
applications, designed with a goal of simplicity, reproducibility, and
effectiveness. Ripeline is a pipeline that allows for a continuously updated
analysis of multiple DNA markers. Rmanual is a "living book" which allows the
creation and continuous update of manuals and checklists.
  Comparing with more traditional ways of DNA marker analysis and manual
preparation, Ripeline and Rmanual allow for a significant reduction of time,
which is usually spent doing repetitive tasks. They also provide tools which
can be used in a broad spectrum of further applications.
