Alternative Web Development Tools in Java

Printing PDF-417 2d barcode in Java Alternative Web Development Tools

serious work Web development requires a specialized kind of text editor, and a number of tools have evolved that make that job easier

Here s a few things you need that you might not already have on your computer: Line numbers: Notepad doesn t have an easy way to figure out what line you re on It s pretty tedious to count lines every time you want to find a problem noted by the Validator Help features: It d be ideal if your editor could help with your code There are tools that recognize HTML code, help with indentation, and warn you when something is wrong Macros: You ll type the same code many times A program that can record and play keyboard macros can save a huge amount of time Testing and validation: It should be easy to test your code in one or more browsers, and there should be an easy way to check your code for standards Multiple browsers: As an Internet user, it s fine to have only one browser, but a Web developer needs to know how things look in a couple different environments Browser features: You can customize some browsers (especially Firefox) to help you a lot With the right attachments, the browser can point out errors and help you see the structure of your page Free and open tools: The Web is exciting because it s free and open technology If you can find tools that follow the same philosophy, all the better

I ve found uses for five main types of programs in Web development: Enhanced text editors: These tools are text editors, but they re soupedup with all kinds of fancy features, like syntax checkers, code-coloring tools, macro tools, and multiple document interfaces Browsers and plugins: The browser you use can make a huge difference You can also install free add-ons that can turn your browser into a powerful Web development tool Integrated Development Environments (IDE): Programmers generally use IDEs, which combine text editing, visual layout, code testing, and debugging tools Programming technologies: This book covers all pertinent info about incorporating other technologies, like Apache, PHP, and MySQL I show you how to install everything you need for these technologies in Book VIII, 1 You don t need to worry about these things yet, but you

should develop habits that are compatible with these enhanced technologies from the beginning Multimedia tools: If you want various multimedia elements on your page, you ll need tools to manage them, as well These could involve graphics and audio editors, as well as full-blown multimedia technologies, like Flash

As a programmer, you come to see your text editor as a faithful dog You spend a lot of time with this tool, so use one that obeys you A text editor should save plain text without any formatting at all You don t want anything that saves colors, font choices, or other text formatting because these things don t automatically translate to HTML Fortunately, you have a lot of choices, as the following sections reveal

A text editor may be a simple program, but that doesn t mean they re all the same Some programs have a history of causing problems for beginners (and experienced developers, too) Because some really great free alternatives are coming up, there s usually no need to use some of these weaker choices Just don t use it Word is a word processor Even though it can theoretically create Web pages, the HTML code it writes is absolutely horrific As an example, I created a blank document, wrote Hello World in it, changed the font, and saved it as HTML The resulting page was non-compliant code, was not quite HTML or XHTML, and was 114 lines long Word is getting better, but it s just not a good Web development tool In fact, don t use any word processor They re just not designed for this kind of work