Dreamweaver vs. Front Page

MadKowDZsMadKowDZs U.S.A.
edited November 2003 in Science & Tech
I have been designing webpages, mostly for myself for a few years now and the two web design programs I have used are Macromedia Dreamweaver MX and Microsoft Front Page. So, which of these two do you think is better? Personally I like Dreamweaver is better.
«1

Comments

  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    Notepad!

    WYSIWYG can go to hell. Bust out the old school text-HTML editors and code from there. Nothing like getting down and dirty with the code. :D
  • LincLinc Owner Detroit Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Dreamweaver, hands down. I undoubtedly have the entire tech department of my college behind me on that one.

    Even for straight-up coding I still open up Dreamweaver because it organizes everything well and color-codes the code for me and numbers the lines. Our campus webmaster does the same.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Notepad is for people just beginning.

    Once you get it down, there's no reason to use it because you're just slowing yourself down. Period. Even if you're a wizard at HTML, point and click is faster than typing the entire string.


    Dreamweaver is the way to go.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    Dreamweaver is miles better than frontpage. Notepad was a joke, right?
  • a2jfreaka2jfreak
    normally uses UltraEdit or Mozilla Composer, but I seldom do HTML and when I do I don't get very fancy. Most aren't quite as keyboard-oriented as I am though and for them I'd recommend Dreamweaver. Front Page sucketh! Also, as Thrax mentioned ...
    Houston, TX Member
    edited November 2003
    normally uses UltraEdit or Mozilla Composer, but I seldom do HTML and when I do I don't get very fancy. Most aren't quite as keyboard-oriented as I am though and for them I'd recommend Dreamweaver. Front Page sucketh! Also, as Thrax mentioned it is quicker to use point-and-click . . . if you're doing a lot of stuff.
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    Geeky1 had this to say
    Dreamweaver is miles better than frontpage. Notepad was a joke, right?

    No, it wasn't. Anything I code in HTML/DHTML/ASP/VBScript/JScript/Java/C/C++/ProLog/CSS/PHP is written in Notepad.

    I prefer not to use WYSIWYG's or IDE's.
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    NotePad is great, I perferr it. CSS and XHTML done by hand is more fun, and i AM serious about that. I do use Dreamweaver though if I am in a hurry, plus you can make tables and other objects more precise with it much faster.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    :wtf: Uh... Simguy/RWB... have you guys been taking your medication? :D

    I know notepad CAN be used, but... EWW!
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    What's so bad about it? Really? I don't need to be babied by a WYSIWYG interface during coding sessions.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    WYSIWYG interfaces make life easier. Easier to debug, in particular.
  • SpinnerSpinner Birmingham, UK
    edited November 2003
    I actually use Frontpage, however, that's because I'm simple, and I really don't like the Dreamweaver interface. I however, have no doubt Dreamweaver is the better program.
  • KwitkoKwitko Sheriff of Banning (Retired) By the thing near the stuff Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Another vote for Notepad. I use a program called EditPlus which is Notepad on steriods. It has syntax color coding. Works really well.
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Geeky1 had this to say
    WYSIWYG interfaces make life easier. Easier to debug, in particular.

    If you don't make the bugs, there is no need for one ;)
  • PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    ok seriously. People still using notepad either cant get ahold of dreamweaver, or theyjust have to much pride. But its not logical.

    Dreamweaver is amazing, even if your just coding. Miles ahead of notepad, lightyears ahed of frontpage

    Frontpage is awful, the pits, worst program ever.
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Gravite2090 had this to say
    ok seriously. People still using notepad either cant get ahold of dreamweaver, or theyjust have to much pride. But its not logical.

    Dreamweaver is amazing, even if your just coding. Miles ahead of notepad, lightyears ahed of frontpage

    Frontpage is awful, the pits, worst program ever.

    I have dreamweaver... wellw orth the money, but I mostly code by hand.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    WHY though? I mean, the fact that dreamweaver fills in code, much the same way office 2000/XP (and I think '97 as well, actually) does if you start typing stuff like the registered user's name or the date. Makes my life a lot easier, especially since the last time I did serious HTML work was 4 years ago. I've done it off and on since then, but I'm a bit rusty, so having those prompts and stuff helps a great deal. It also made my life much easier when I was trying to get my last sig. working properly with vbulletin...
  • KwitkoKwitko Sheriff of Banning (Retired) By the thing near the stuff Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I learned how to code by doing everything by hand. I just got used to it. The only time I use DreamWeaver is when I'm working remotely because of the built-in FTP.
  • EnverexEnverex Worcester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I do everything by hand as well, though I use 1stPage rather than Notepad, as it is basically Notepad with colours and some other features to save time.

    WYSIWYG really doesn't work when you are going across many formats as firstly it just won't display properly when you are trying to edit it, and secondly, when it is all server side script, you can't see it anyway.

    WYSIWYG editors also tend to add lots of pointless crap to the code and basically waste time and space.

    The only time I ever find myself using a WYSIWYG editor is to draw a semi-complex table, thats pretty much it as now due to the mix of code WYS isn't always WYG.

    NS
  • DogSoldierDogSoldier The heart of radical Amish country..
    edited November 2003
    I've been using Dreamweaver since 98. Best web developer program EVAHHHH! And for you code monkeys, there is a show code option you can use rather than the design window. I use it to debug/delete the useless stuff, but the problem of extraneous code has lessened with each new version of DW. Who uses the DW defaults for javascript anyways?!
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Coding by hand denotes your true love and devotion for the game.
  • DogSoldierDogSoldier The heart of radical Amish country..
    edited November 2003
    I'm sure that's true. But making a living at web development isn't a game, try it and you'll see that time does indeed mean money.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    DogSoldier had this to say
    I'm sure that's true. But making a living at web development isn't a game, try it and you'll see that time does indeed mean money.

    Perfectly said.

    When you're in the business to make money with web development, as I am on the side, you learn <b>very</b> quickly that efficiency means more than pride. Getting the job done is markedly more important than stroking your ego by doing it in notepad.
  • KwitkoKwitko Sheriff of Banning (Retired) By the thing near the stuff Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I don't feel like I get finished any quicker using DW over Notepad.
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    TD_Isles had this to say
    I don't feel like I get finished any quicker using DW over Notepad.

    I'm not very advanced, but I completely agree. Read sig ;)
    Although, it is a bit of a lie since I attend school 8 to 12 hours a day.
  • a2jfreaka2jfreak Houston, TX Member
    edited November 2003
    Face it folks: Different strokes for different folks.

    I don't see why some of you cannot comprehend the simple little fact that for some people the keyboard is the prefered method of doing HTML. Quit trying to argue and just accept the fact that not everyone works and thinks along your same lines and you shouldn't think that your limitations with a text editor apply to everyone. People like myself are very deft with a keyboard, and you cannot tell me it's any faster to grab the mouse, click a button, and then type "http://www.short-media.com&quot; and "Short-Media" than it is to never take your fingers off the keyboard and just type "< a href="http://www.short-media.com&quot; > Short-Media < /a >. Sure, there are places where the GUI makes things slightly faster, but we're talking about a couple of seconds and those two seconds are made up for rather quickly with all the other things that are done faster w/ the keyboard.

    Also, for very common things you can do macros or key combos to aid in filling in snippets of code.

    Does using a text editor equate to pride? Well, for some it might, but definitely not all. Maybe people just like it. No matter which program is used to automatically generate HTML there is almost always clean-up that needs to be done by hand so skipping the middle-man isn't a huge leap in logic.

    Personally, I use both text and GUI editors so I find them both helpful, but I favor text over GUI. I mainly use GUI for tables and nesting of tables because in that case it is markedly faster (for me) to use the GUI but on the other stuff I just flip the tab over to text and continue coding or refresh the code in UltraEdit so it sees the outside changes and then proceed.
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Well said a2j... there are freaks, then there are more freaks. It's like my buddy, he uses a hot key to access the Run Prompt then types in the address instead of just going to his browsers address bar, even when the browser is open already. He just perferrs to not use a mouse cuase he is used to his laptop.
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    i never used frontpage...so im gonna have to say dreamweaver
  • CyrixInsteadCyrixInstead Stoke-on-Trent, England Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Yes but with Dreamweaver, and many other software coding programs, you type and it fills in the blanks, so to speak.

    It's possible to use Dreamweaver without the WYSIWYG interface (code only), and when you type < strong > for example, when you do the 2nd > Dreamweaver automatically puts the < /strong >. Now tell me thats slower than doing the whole thing in Notepad. And, it makes for better programming practice as you don't go forgetting to close hrefs etc.

    ~Cyrix
  • croc_croc_ New
    edited November 2003
    Dreamweaver. 9 out of 10 doctors recommend.

    I pretty much go half and half, code by hand/wysiwyg.

    Most people making webpages know the code regardless of how they code, so why not use the best possible tools to do your work? Not only do you save time, but you also have tools to check your work, fix tags/spelling etc etc. Its like participating in a Nascar race with a civic. You might be just as good a driver as any of the other competitors, but your car is just too slow.
  • a2jfreaka2jfreak Houston, TX Member
    edited November 2003
    Cyrix: Faster than notepad? Sure. Perhaps even a bit smarter than UltraEdit which is what I use primarily, but I can type </strong> w/out any problem so that feature would save me about 1 second. Besides, I just created a macro (html::strong) in UltraEdit so that when I hit Shift+.+S (which is < s) I get < strong >< /strong > appearing on the screen with the cursor positioned between the two so I can continue typing.

    I can make macros for all sorts of things.

    Don't get me wrong. I'm not knocking dreamweaver. It's a fine product. I'm just trying to get it across that the people who seem to think that dreamweaver is far superior to text editing aren't right and aren't wrong. It all depends on the person. For some Dreamweaver is best while others prefer text editors. It's whatever makes one feel most comfortable and whatever allows him to do his work the quickest. For me that's normally a text editor. For you maybe it's Dreamweaver.
Sign In or Register to comment.