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Alternative Editors for Web Development - [Sept. 2012]


LSW

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You can write code in something like Notepad, but face it, syntax coloring to spot errors, spell checkers and the like are all good tools to have. So with no further ranting I offer to you this list of possible editors to choose from. Some I have used, some just heard of.

 

I have organized it in operating system, Windows, Mac, Linux and then sub divided into Freeware and Shareware. Also a few other editors are mentioned specializing for say PHP.

 

This page may be added or subtracted to as new programs arrive or fall away so you will need to stop by once in a while. You will see at the bottom the last time it was edited.

 

This is not the end all of lists, there may be more editors out there and some of these may be usable on more than one platform

 

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HTML Editors

 

Big Boys

  • Adobe Dreamweaver - (Formerly Macromedia Dreamweaver) The development Standard. Odds are if you try to get a job the company will be using this so it is better to know how to work with it. As excellent site management tools. Works as both code and WYSIWYG per Layout view. Windows / Mac.
  • Microsoft Expression Studio - The new Expression series of development tools, Expression web is the normal WYSIWYG editor that replaced the retired FrontPage series. It is more standards compliant and a far better tool than FrontPage. Reduce complexity and ease data integration by using powerful design tools and task panes to design for ASP.NET, PHP and XML. Seamlessly integrate Web design and development teams with the powerful combination of Expression Web 2 and Visual Studio 2008.
  • Microsoft Visual Studio - Likely the premiere tool for developing Microsoft .NET Framework ASP applications and pages. Most commonly used with Visual basic or more and more C#. This tool is build explicityly for dealing with .NET solutions.

 

Windows

 

Freeware

  • HTML-Kit Tools - The newest version of HTML-Kit, it offers many languages and extensions, supports PHP and up through C++. There are other applications at Chami that you may find of use as well.
  • 1st Page 2000 - a very good program I used for two years. It is now a bit old in the tooth as it was originally written by a high school student in Australia and now comes under EVRSOFT.
  • Amaya - I must say it looks impressive and is a product of the W3C itself.
  • Vim - I played with this in school, it is actually meant for Linux and has a steep learning curve as it works more with command line sort of work. But if you take the time to learn it is is very powerful. Vim is charityware.
  • Nvu - Originally made for Linux, it is also available for Mac and Windows. It has been re-vamped. It is a WYSIWYG and good for those with little knowledge of HTML. I know many people in forums who swear by it.
  • KompoZer - This is an editor related to Nvu, but the last official release was 2005.
  • NoteTab - I have never built a site with this but often use it just to check source code of sites I visit, it is quick loading. Windows free and shareware depending on version.
  • Emacs - Loved by a few. It is GNU and is basically a Command line editor like a DOS window. Takes a lot of getting used to, but is considered a classic.
  • Arachnophilia - This is a program that has been around a while. I have never used it, but have heard often that it is very simple and therefore is a excellent editor for beginners learning HTML.

 

Shareware

  • HotDog - This program has been around for sometime. It was often supplied in computer magazines in Germany. I have not heard of it in years but it is still out there.
  • CoffeeCup HTML Editor - I have used CoffeCup software and generally it is very good.
  • AceHTML - A shareware editor with a decent reputation.
  • NetObjects Fusion - Ok this is tricky. This software has rated well often. It is especially good for creating e-commerce sites and Database driven web sites. What keeps me from praising it however is the way it works. Even the worst editors allow some access to the HTML behind the web site. Fusion however uses it's own propriety code created as you drag and drop elements on the screen. Only once the web site is finished and is to be published, is the propriety code then translated into HTML. This means at no time can you switch to HTML view to tweak a element. This program goes out of it's way to keep you away from the code, so it is fine for those with no interest in learning how to really build sites.

 

Mac

 

 

Freeware

  • Creatext - I think about the most popular pure Mac editor, highly recommended to me. However it is no longer being developed, the older versions are available at this link.
  • Nvu - Originally made for Linux, it is also available for Mac and Windows. It has been re-vamped. It is a WYSIWYG and good for those with little knowledge of HTML. I know many people in forums who swear by it.
  • KompoZer - This is an editor related to Nvu, but the last official release was 2005.
  • Emacs - Loved by a few. It is GNU and is basically a Command line editor like a DOS window. Takes a lot of getting used to, but is considered a classic.

Shareware

  • BBEdit - I have heard of it but know little.
  • Rage Web Design - Sorry, no real info or experience with this one.
  • PageSpinner - Sorry, no real info or experience with this one.
  • Tumult HyperEdit - Sorry, no real info or experience with this one.
  • Coda - This is a Mac tool, so I can not say how well it works but I have heard good things about it and it certainly sounds interesting for Mac users. Worth reading up on.
  • skEdit - Never used it but was suggested to me in a forum.
  • Taco HTML Edit - orry, no real info or experience with this one.

 

Linux

 

Freeware

  • Vim - I played with this in school, it is actually meant for Linux and has a steep learning curve as it works more with command line sort of work. But if you take the time to learn it is is very powerful. Vim is charityware.
  • Nvu - Originally made for Linux, it is also available for Mac and Windows. It has been re-vamped. It is a WYSIWYG and good for those with little knowledge of HTML. I know many people in forums who swear by it.
  • KompoZer - This is an editor related to Nvu, but the last official release was 2005.
  • Quanta Plus - Sorry, no info on this.
  • Kate (KDE Advanced Text Editor) - Sorry, no real info or experience with this one.
  • Emacs - Loved by a few. It is GNU and is basically a Command line editor like a DOS window. Takes a lot of getting used to, but is considered a classic.

 

 

Other languages

 

CSS

  • TopStyle CSS - My choice for CSS work, also comes in a free light version, at least older versions of it.
  • EditCSS - A Firefox Extention suggested by tpattison below.
  • JustStyle CSS Editor - Sorry, no real info or experience with this one.

 

 

PHP

  • EditPlus2 - My earliest editor for PHP programming, really nice tools and plugins. I still use it sometimes.
  • PHP Designer - A freeware PHP editor with a decent reputation, from the creators of HTML Gate.
  • Rapid PHP - PHP editor, never used it but it comes well praised to me. Shareware / Windows.
  • Zen Studio - A very good program, I have used it before and was impressed. But also recall it being a bit complicated. It is not free but I think worth it for the hard core PHP programmer.
  • CodeLobster PHP Edition - I have never used it but it was suggested to me for this list by "oldkiller". It is a free editor.

 

 

XML

  • Xopus XML Editor - shareware, browser based XML editor, have no more info on it the what the site says.
  • XMLSpy - Likely the default XML editor on the market. Shareware.

 

 

General programming Editors

  • Eclipse - It supports Java, PHP, C/C++ & Coldfusion for a few I know of. It is free and for all Platforms.
  • Flex - Put simply, Flex is Flash for programmers. However rather than making animations it is used to make Flash based web and desktop applications using ActionScript. It uses the Eclipse IDE and ties easily into languages such as Java or C++ and databases such as SQL and Oracle.

 

 

Editors for CMS

  • Xstandard - XStandard is said to write the Purest standards based code of any WYSIWYG editor. It is meant for Content Management Systems (CMS), it opens in your default browser (NOTE: It uses Active-X so only works under Windows OS at this time).
  • GWD Text Editor - I have never used it but it was praised in a couple of forums. Windows Shareware.
  • TinyMCE - another WYSIWYG editor meant for use in a CMS. This will work under Mac, Windows and Linux.
  • WYMEditor - This is still in the Alpha phase so it is really not ready for use by beginners. Only those with experiance should try this at this time. It does however look interesting and I will be watching it. It pays close attention to standards and accessibility. One of the developers is a member here (see farther down the thread).
  • widgEditor - from my understanding this will work with both Mac and Windows.
  • FCKEditor - This too is a CMS editor that works on all operating systems.

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I've been using Aptana Studio, which is essentially a plugin for Eclipse, but is downloadable as a separate program with some different graphical elements. I would list it separately because it includes intelligent autocomplete for javascript frameworks (jQuery, Prototype, Mootools) out of the box, and PHP with a one-click plugin.

 

Available for Windows and Linux, and I *believe* Mac. Any platform Eclipse is on, essentially.

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My preferred editors aren't mentioned here - thought I would share.

 

Windows - Komodo (commercial) / Komodo Edit (free)

 

Linux - Geany

 

In particular, Komodo features intellisense for JQuery out of the box - excellent stuff.

 

Also, the free version of Visual Studio, Visual Web Developer, is excellent if you are starting to learn asp.net on a budget.

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  • 2 months later...

I'm a BBEdit user meself, mostly because the free version -- Text Wrangler, at the time, didn't have color coding.

 

Erm, I'm still out on DW. I really did want to get into that app, but it somehow was screwing with most of my other BBEdit files by changing them from BBEdit files into DW files. It was driving me nuts having to change 'em back every time I wanted to look at something without opening DW.

 

I would like to try something else though. Something that allows me to present my mark-up and code the way I like to view it. I'm not sure if DW will let me change some preference to do that. And I would also want it not to fug around with my freeping files.

 

There was something recently about a new open source HTML / CSS / PHP/ etc, editor from Mozilla or Google or whoever, but I just can't remember what it was.

 

It looked really cool, but at the same time it's probably a bit over-the-top for my needs. Still, it would encourage me to get more serious about website building -- maybe?

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