Recommend good HTML editors per platform?

[unboggling]

Originally Posted by frabjous

Vim takes a while to get used to, with its different modes and keyboard-driven approach, but it's soooo worth it. It's hard to imagine a better text editor.

Fire up vimtutor and you're off and running.

Well, that was interesting. Even with internal help and website help … guess I'll stick to BBedit for awhile until I get brave enough to risk it again.

[lindsayw]

I use CoffeeCup, which comes in a free version, as an (x)html editor for the pc, although the inbuilt 'preview' mode is a bit too forgiving to be ideal... a bit like most Browsers, it doesn't swear at you when you make xhtml errors, so you need something more strict for checking as well. It's designed for website stuff, of course.

[unboggling]

Originally Posted by lindsayw

I use CoffeeCup, which comes in a free version, as an (x)html editor for the pc, although the inbuilt 'preview' mode is a bit too forgiving to be ideal... a bit like most Browsers, it doesn't swear at you when you make xhtml errors, so you need something more strict for checking as well. It's designed for website stuff, of course.

Thanks. Looks okay. Their site says they're working on OSX versions of their most popular products, so I'll wait personally since I'm on Mac. The free version for PC doesn't include a lot of stuff like Visual Editor, CSS Menu Designer, etc. Are you saying the free version does enough with HTML to be worthwhile? Or should I recommend the full CoffeeCup HTML Editor for $49 to Windows users in the next KISS post and not recommend the free version?

[unboggling]

Originally Posted by user_none

True, but in a few months when it goes back to $99 $49 TextWrangler is a good alliterative.

Also, Aptana Studio or Eclipse with the WTP plugin make good HTML editors. Aptana is based on Eclipse and they are multi-platform.

I downloaded and tried both. Aptana looks a little easier and maybe even better (to my untrained eye). With Eclipse, the WTP tools seem to come only packaged with Eclipse Java for Developers or Eclipse Java EE for Developers (at least in the binary versions). I downloaded and tried both and being a Java wimp still aren't sure what's the difference between Java EE and Java not EE.

Aside from that, Aptana looks simpler to use. Is there a debate about which (Aptana or Eclipse) is better, or is that a naive question based on ignorance of all the different focuses they were designed for?

[lindsayw]

Originally Posted by Unboggling

Are you saying the free version does enough with HTML to be worthwhile?

Yes. Well, it does for me, but I've had about 20 years of html & php experience for website work plus programming experience. I don't miss those hand-holding features but I suppose that newbies might like them. My only real problem came from the timing for the switch from plain-vanilla html to xhtml... just after I had retired, so when converting my books I had to learn xhtml niceties. By making lots of mistakes, usually. So, what's new?

[unboggling]

Originally Posted by lindsayw

Yes. Well, it does for me, but I've had about 20 years of html & php experience for website work plus programming experience. I don't miss those hand-holding features but I suppose that newbies might like them. My only real problem came from the timing for the switch from plain-vanilla html to xhtml... just after I had retired, so when converting my books I had to learn xhtml niceties. By making lots of mistakes, usually. So, what's new?

I'll mention both versions. Thanks.

I worked more with older things like on VAXs and then kept getting sidetracked away from programming by management into systems analysis and integration jobs (which were also better for promotions there) so I missed a lot of software development evolution including HTML. Then after I retired I was disgusted/burnt-out with the field and stayed away for ten years. Now the learning never stops. I'll probably die with some tutorial on a reader in my hand.