[Wftl-lug] Open source web tools

[Robert Boardman]

Dear Mark,

I teach courses in HTML \ XHTML coding on line for Ontario Learn. I discourage my students 
from using Dreamweaver if they ask. These are supposed to be nice tools, but generally 
don't make code that complies with the W3C standards.

In Windows I recommend HTML-Kit from Chami. I am also trying to get used to Amaya, but I 
don't like its GUI (and its way of setting work up in projects) very much. On my Linux machine 
I use Bluefish. For an old coder, it should be relatively easy for you to get used to these "sort 
of" WYSIWYG editors. They get you as close to the code and you want to be, they will flag 
mistakes or not let you make many, and they have immediate links to a browser (Amaya is a 
browser as well as an editor) so the effect of changes is apparent very quickly.

I hope your course instructor insists your code meet the current standards: XHTML, either 
transitional or strict. As a programmer from way back you are used to following the rules or 
else. So this won't be a hardship.

If I can be of some assistance let me know privately.


On 26 Feb 2007 at 14:01, Mark Jarvis wrote:

> 
> 
> I got involved in a volunteer project and ended up putting together a
> web site. As a result, I'm now taking a web development/design course
> at a local community college. The school uses Macromedia (now Adobe)
> Flash, Dreamweaver, & Fireworks. They're nice tools, but a bit
> expensive if you're not using them for a going business. Are there
> similar open source tools for either Linux or Windows and if so, what
> are they?
> 
> As an old coder (I started programming mainframes in '65), I've been
> doing everything so far with a text editor and straight xhtml coding,
> and don't really have a problem continuing that way, but the tools do
> make it possible to do some things that otherwise I just would have to
> skip.
> 
> -mj- 

Robert Boardman
redfrog at handsonweb.com