Free alternative to Dreamweaver?

[jfrizelle]

Hi,

A local school is interested in running Introduction to Web Design night classes, but they don't have Dreamweaver (or Frontpage) and don't intend buying it.

Is there an Open Source alternative that you would recommend that I could use to teach them? I have my own copy of DW, but installing it on lots of PCs in a school is not really an option...

Thanks,
J.

[kohc0004]

Hi,

There are a lot of opensource software. Just type opensource web design software or free html editor, you will have plenty. Microsoft frontpage is also a good alternative with the software in built when you buy your computer.

Jerry

[jfrizelle]

Thanks Jerry, I've found a few alright, but I'm just wondering if there's anything in particular that any that would be particularly highly recommended.

I know I could download and evaluate a few myself but I'm hoping to draw on other people's experience instead - time is an issue so any input / recommendations would be much appreciated!

Thanks,
J.

[weegillis]

A basic editor (though not at the level of DW, FP or GoLive) is HTML-Kit from Chami. For starting out, it offers syntax highlighting for many languages, an FTP client and several free plug-ins. If you want to start from coding basics, this is a good bet.

The paid version offers greater access to free stuff, but the free version is still fully functional.

[Chiefos]

For php:
PHPEclipse - Trac

For asp.net:
Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition

For both:
Php IDE - VS.Php for Visual Studio | Jcx.Software Corp.

[NetMassimo]

Look for KompoZer, a free software derived from NVU that works under Windows and Linux so students can use it regardless of what OS they run at school and home.

[kgun]

I thought there was free versions of this:

Download XML Editor

XML editor.

Personal advice: Learn XML and you will indirectly learn the bad HTML dialect.

PHP editors.

Home - www.phpedit.com

MPSOFTWARE - phpDesigner - The Best PHP Editor & PHP IDE!

Note: In a sense there is IMO no real competitor to DreamWeaver unless you use a more professional development platform like C++ Builder 2009 professional.

Dream weaver has

ASP JS and VBScript, ASP.NET VB + C# +, JSP ,PHP, Coldfusion templates .., inbuilt validators + much more.

[Vaijero_Maya]

Try Kompozer and Amaya (Amaya Home Page)

[weegillis]

Buying a standalone version of Dreamweaver is almost an exercise in futility, since it is so integrated in the complete Creative Suite of programs: Photoshop, Fireworks, Flash, Contribute, Bridge, Illustrator, and so on. By itself it is not much more than HTML-Kit, but $500 more expensive.

For learning, the free or inexpensive approach is the better one, where students' pocketbooks are concerned. Once they graduate, they can spend the $1800 it costs to buy CS4, CS5 or whatever it will be by then.

Along with coding, they should learn about image optimization. For this, you will need at least one copy of Fireworks. This is worth investing in (about $400), since it won't really ever go out of date.

[chowell]

Originally Posted by kgun

PHP editors.

Home - www.phpedit.com

MPSOFTWARE - phpDesigner - The Best PHP Editor & PHP IDE!

Both of these systems offer Free trial downloads, but require payment for a regular version. Anyone know of a truly Free editor?

While on the subject, does anyone know of a (Free again) tool to create relational MySQL tables?

Thanks.

[wige]

My personal favorite was Evrsoft's First Page 2000 (now First Page 2006). This program has many of the features of Dreamweaver, including built in FTP support, a code database, code samples and generators, and syntax highlighting.

[jfrizelle]

Many thanks for all the replies! I'll start checking the options out in the next few days.

It's an 'introduction to web design' course for complete beginners, so I wouldn't even cover asp, php, etc (except to explain what they are) - just the basics of putting a simple brochure website together, and taking them through the html code that's generated, using stylesheets (for font styles only), etc. It would just give them a small flavour of what web design is about, give them a starting point to play around with.

[fiShBoN3]

I use HAPedit. It's not a quite as complete as dreamweaver, but it can suffice.
HAPedit - Html Asp Php Editor.