Which web authoring tool?

[bogeyman]

I have been using Netbeans 6.5 recently which is quite good IMHO. It's free so deffo worth a look.

Not exactly a 'web authoring tool' is it?

Joe Bloggs (voiced by Johnny Vegas) : I'd like to make a website. I'm not an expert but I need to make it quickly and not look like a pile of shyte

Ok Web Wizzards, do you recommend....

a) MS Frontpage

b) Dreamweaver

c) Hand coding with a few hints and tips

d) Netbeans 6.5

Joe: I like the sound of Netbeans!

[ghl]

Another for NetBeans here. Also Notepad++ which is a good lightweight editor

Frontpage??? F--k me is that still alive?

[lightng]

Another for NetBeans here. Also Notepad++ which is a good lightweight editor

Notepad++ is a great free text editor.

[Ardesco]

Not exactly a 'web authoring tool' is it?

Netbeans 6.5 supports (among other things) the following:

HTML
XHTML
XML
PHP
Javascript
CSS

It does code formatting, highlights code errors and offers code completion in all the above so I would say that in it's current version it is quite usable as a 'web authoring tool'. Older versions were not, but IMHO 6.5 has come on quite a long way.

What it does not provide you with is a WYSIWYG interface, but that's not a bad thing IMHO as most people who really want to code websites don't use them (again IMHO).

[NickFitz]

What it does not provide you with is a WYSIWYG interface, but that's not a bad thing IMHO as most people who really want to code websites don't use them (again IMHO).

WHS. There's actually very little point to having a WYSIWYG interface, as either:

• It's a proprietary thing that ends up rendering something in a way totally unlike any real browser;
• Or, it embeds some browser's rendering engine (Trident, Gecko or whatever), but that's useless because you then don't realise that your design looks different in another rendering engine.

As you have to check everything in multiple browsers anyway, the WYSIWYG view ends up being more of a hindrance than anything else. It deludes you into thinking things work when they don't.

[Platypus]

I'm simply amazed at the number of hand-coders!

I expected an overwhelming vote for DreamWeaver.

Perhaps I'll stick with what I've got, plus "vi" for perl and PHP

Thanks all for the replies and insight

[lightng]

I'm simply amazed at the number of hand-coders!

I expected an overwhelming vote for DreamWeaver.

Perhaps I'll stick with what I've got, plus "vi" for perl and PHP

Thanks all for the replies and insight

If you like vi, have a look at Vim. It includes colour syntax highlighting.

[NickFitz]

I'm simply amazed at the number of hand-coders!

I expected an overwhelming vote for DreamWeaver.

I think it's to do with a greater appreciation of the fact that HTML is intended to represent the semantics of a document (a primary heading should be an <h1>, a subheading at the level below that should be an <h2>, the quotation of a passage should be a <blockquote>, a list where there is no inherent ordering to the elements should be <ul> as opposed to <ol> where order is important, and so forth), while styling is applied via CSS.

Indeed, the italicisation of the word "semantics" up there ought to be represented by <em> - read the sentence aloud in the way that I intend it to be read, and you'll realise that it's about emphasising the word. Italicising a word that would be emphasised when spoken is a typographical convention that is purely presentational; the use of <em> has semantic value, as it describes the level of significance of that word in the context of that sentence, rather than simply saying how I want it to be displayed.

This isn't just about abstract notions of the semantic purity of markup. Such usage can be of enormous value to those who rely on assistive technologies, such as partially- or un-sighted people using screen reading software. If you've ever listened to a screen-reader like Jaws (which is the most widely used) grinding its way through an old-school page:

table four rows three columns
row
spacer.gif spacer.gif spacer.gif
row
spacer.gif Welcome to ThingCorp spacer.gif
row
spacer.gif
table seven rows eight columns
row
spacer.gif...

then you'll rapidly come to appreciate the value of semantically-structured HTML:

heading
Welcome to ThingCorp

(Read both of those aloud in a robot voice to get the full effect. Remember, spacer.gif is pronounced "spacer dot gif".)

If you like vi, have a look at Vim. It includes colour syntax highlighting.

Xeno ought to be along shortly to award some geek points for that post

[dinker]

PSPad is the best programmers text editor.

[bogeyman]

PSPad is the best programmers text editor.

Oh. Is it? Ok then.