Software Tools for:
CMST 386: Advanced Internet and Web Design

Though you are free to use whatever tools you wish, WYSIWYG HTML authoring tools excepted, below are some recommendations. These tools make using Net resources much easier and, as you will note, all can be downloaded from the Net. Unfortunately some of the better ones are not free. However there are nearly equivalent free ones in every category.

Operating Systems

UNIX on the server and Windows XP on the client PC are, at the moment, the UMUC standard. There are of course other operating systems. Linux, a UNIX based clone widely used for PC based servers, user friendly Vista for the PC and Jaguar (OS-10) for the Mac, which, by the way, has a UNIX core easily available to the programmers among you, are examples.

The applications below are targeted to the current UMUC standard. Feel free to suggest alternatives via the WebTycho café.

Text Editors for Scripting

A simple PC based text editor for writing code is an essential tool. By definition, text editors allow direct access to existing code and facilitate the writing of new code by providing this same access. Also you will find text editors more than adequate for most short writing tasks.

The choice here is nearly infinite. If you do not have a favorite Windows based text editor try TextPad by Helios. Another good choice that's free is NoteTab Light. A good free Mac text editor is BBedit Lite.

You can use MS Word and the like to write scripts, provided you save the files created as text, however it is not recommended. It's like using a bulldozer to pick up a spoon of salt. Possible but cumbersome.

For UNIX there are also a raft of choices. Typing pico at the UNIX prompt will call up a real easy to use one. More expansive UNIX base editors that are also available for the PC include Vim, Emacs and jEdit.

Please see the text editor list for an exhaustive listing of editors.

HTML Centric Text Editors

The next step up in HTML text editors is represented by HomeSite. HomeSite by Macromedia is used by the vast majority of professionals. TopStyle by BradSoft, a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) centric HTML editor, is another one that lets you have direct access to the code. Both provide extensive help and flexibility. Unfortunately HomeSite costs about $100 and TopStyle about $80. Well worth it if you will be coding HTML, JavaScript, PHP, and other Web page associated languages over the long haul.

There is an excellent free editor, very much like HomeSite, called Alleycode. HTML, CSS and PHP are supported.

The learning curve for these advanced editors is modest. It is well worth the effort.

Mail programs

An easy choice here. At the UNIX prompt typing pine calls a very easy to use mail program. Use of a UNIX based e-mail program is required for this course.

Telnet

Telnet applications enable PC control of remote computers, typically servers. There is one built into Windows (Start/Run/telnet your_server.umuc.edu). NetTerm - nt32520i.exe, a telnet application by InterSoft however is more robust. It is inexpensive and very versatile. It makes server access, printing, the up/down loading of files, reading UNIX based mail, accessing URLs, editing files on-line, and such tasks a piece of 3.14159265358979323846...

A free, but more complex, Telnet application called PuTTY, is available. A UMUC centric version called PortaPutty is also available.

FTP

You can access an array of File Transfer Protocol (ftp) applications at Tucows.

For a long time WS_FTP95 was the application of choice at UMUC. The vendor however no longer makes this free version available so it may be difficult to find though university sites often still have it available. A WS_FTP tutorial can be found on this UMUC site.

The current FTP application of choice at UMUC is CoreFTP LE. Details for downloading and using this application can be found in the UNIX FAQ item #8.

Graphics

Pictures are fun. The Web is loaded with free graphic downloads. Often you would like to modify what you download. That where IrfanView comes in. For comprehensive graphics design work there is GIMP. GIMP is the free, nearly Adobe Photoshop, equivalent.

Browsers

Browsers behave differently so it is a good idea to have a variety loaded on your machine so if a site you are interested in has problems with one you can simply switch to another. They are all free.

Opera¹ (A well designed browser with extensive features)

Internet Explorer ¹ (Comes with Windows)

Mozilla Firefox ¹
(a real winner designed to meet all of the W3C specifications)

There are of course other browsers. Prominent among these are Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome.

For a more expansive list see: browsers for Windows, Apple and UNIX/Linux.

Virus Scanners

A MUST have tool. AVG offers a free edition.

Personal Firewalls

If you access the Net you need one. Both ZoneAlarm and Jetico offer free versions that are quite good. There also are firewalls that come with the Windows and the Mac OS.

Spywear Protection

SpyBot Search & Destroy, and Ad-Aware are free spyware removers. Spyware is malicious code that piggybacks on some software.

WYSIWYG Authoring Tools

Authoring tools such as, Dreamweaver or FrontPage are not recommended for use when learning to write Web pages. These tools isolate the user from the coding process. Not a good thing if you wish to learn the process.

Another issue is that HTML was designed for the efficient transfer of data. The design was based on protocols that use a minimum communication channel bandwidth. This approach left much of the formatting of a Web page dependent on the viewers browser. For example, if you specify a font that is not on the viewers machine it will not render. The absence of formatting constructs in the language poses a difficult task for What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) authoring tools. As a result the code produced, even by the better high end tools such as Dreamweaver, is not very efficient. Maintenance of this code is quite difficult. Some of the lower end products, such as FrontPage, have included proprietary constructs to deal with formatting problems making the code even more difficult to maintain and not Spec. compliant.

Authoring tools are useful in the hands of a skilled coder working in a multi-contributor environment. However code written using a WYSIWYG editor is not acceptable for this course.

Last Words

It has been said that in the hands of a skilled workman any tool will do. This may be true, but why wear a hairshirt.

Note 1. All Web page assignments MUST render properly using these browsers.