Newbie questions

[nickph99]

I may have put the cart before the horse but here is my question. I purchased the script and it is up and running but i dont know anything about anything.

What is the best software program to get me started modifying the site to my liking? Dreamweaver seems to do everything but it is expensive and complicated. Other options such as the coffee cup suites seem just as usefull and are cheaper and look like they are easier to use, but im unsure of the online resources/manuals to figure out how to use them. Dreamweaver tutorials and books are everywhere and seem to cover the stuff i need to do. I am switching to mac but am keeping my PC, which platform is better for my web editing stuff?

Also, in general, what is the difrence between web development and web design? To me they sound like the same thing.


Thanks,

Nick

[Eric Barnes]

Hi Nick,

It really depends on how comfortable you are with php and html. I am on a mac now and use textmate, coda, and eclipse for all my editing. These do not have a live preview except for coda and they are all straight code editors. So no wysiwyg.

For the pc I have used eclipse, dreamweaver, and a program named Nvu.

Nvu is an open source alternative to Dreamweaver and can be found here:
http://nvudev.com/index.php

[Mike-N-Tosh +]

Any computer, PC or Mac will edit web sites just fine. Of course, I prefer Mac for everything, but that's just personal choice.

The difference between Web Development and Web Design:
Web Development is the development of web applications (such as 68c). Some would refer to it as the back end, some would refer to it as middleware, etc.

Web Design is specific to the User Interface. What it looks like. The colors, the graphics, etc.

In a nutshell, is Web Design is how it looks and Web Development is how it works.

As far as learning goes, I would first recommend using the free web services. Type in HTML tutorials, Web design tutorials, etc. and you will find a plethora of resources.

Hope that helps.
-Mike
P.S. Nvu is open source software (free) and is made for Linux, Mac and Windows.

[nickph99]

Nvu looks like the ticket for me but in the FAQ section it says it wont work on a mac w/ an intel chip. Is this true?

thanks guys. im sure we will be talking again soon.

[Mike-N-Tosh +]

Originally Posted by nickph99

Nvu looks like the ticket for me but in the FAQ section it says it wont work on a mac w/ an intel chip. Is this true?

It does seem like it. I don't actually use Nvu myself, but do have it installed. I'm still hobbling along on my dinosaur PPCG4 dual 1.25GHz machine, but hey it still runs the latest Mac OSX 10.5 (Leopard). I'm still good, but drooling over those screaming fast 8-core new Mac Pros!

-Mike