HTML Editor Reviews | Reviews and Discussion of (X)HTML Coding Tools

Review: Espresso 1.0

MacRabbit’s newly released Espresso has clearly been positioned as a rival to Panic’s Coda (review), with each striving for one-window web development supremacy on the Mac. What’s interesting about comparing these two apps, however, is their different approaches to what’s essentially the same basic functionality. Each program is defined by its heritage: Coda shares a lot of its DNA with Transmit, featuring powerful FTP and project management tools. The weakest part of Coda is the text editor. Espresso, on the other hand, is CSSEdit’s much more multi-faceted younger sibling and it has learned many of CSSEdit’s tricks, plus a slew of new ones. As a result, Espresso’s strongest feature is the text editor.

Continue reading Review: Espresso 1.0 »

Review: Coda 1.0

There has already been so much talk about Coda, Panic’s foray into the world of HTML editors, I hardly know what I can add. It’s a startlingly good 1.0 release, to be sure, but it’s certainly not perfect. As an HTML editor alone, it doesn’t really stack up to its more powerful competitors (TextMate, for example), but, as an all-in-one tool, it’s quite an elegant solution.

Continue reading Review: Coda 1.0 »

Review: TSW WebCoder 2005

At first glance, I thought TSW WebCoder 2005 might replace WeBuilder 2006 as my editor of choice. It has almost all the features I look for in an editor, plus it’s lightweight and relatively inexpensive. Upon further inspection, however, TSW WebCoder 2005 lacks some polish. Regardless, it’s a solid editor, and I find it surprising that I’ve only just heard of it.

Continue reading Review: TSW WebCoder 2005 »

Review: Quanta Plus 3.5

My first Linux adventures began in 2000 thanks to Corel. Since then, I’ve been fascinated and frustrated by the open source OS, always wanting to spend more time in Linux but inevitably returning to Windows to get things done. My obvious attraction to Linux and open source software is the philosophy on which they are built: create, share, and improve. Moreover, the fact that such impressive software is available at little to no cost has always been an incredible bonus.

Now that Linux is becoming even more user friendly, thanks to distros like Mandriva and the extremely popular Ubuntu, more people are choosing Linux as their primary web development environment. As a result, Linux HTML editors are starting to come into their own with more features and functionality than ever before. One of the oldest, most robust Linux HTML editors is Quanta Plus.

Continue reading Review: Quanta Plus 3.5 »

Review: BBEdit 8

Ease of use, efficiency, and personal comfort are the primary criteria I’ve been using to rate the editors on this site. A piece of software can have all the bells and whistles in the world, but if it doesn’t help you get your work done quickly, accurately, and easily, then all those features don’t amount to much. What an ominous way to introduce this review of BBEdit, the long-standing and revered editor for the Mac!

Continue reading Review: BBEdit 8 »

Review: skEdit 3.6.1

Before I begin, I have to qualify this review by saying that I develop primarily in Windows and typically only use my Mac for browser testing. The websites I develop are XHTML/CSS-based and I often find myself working with PHP and MySQL. I haven’t spent a lot of time in OS X, so I’m not familiar with all the ins and outs of the os (the keyboard short-cuts, for example, or even some of the key symbols). All this is to say that a regular Mac user may have a different take on some of what I have to say about any software created specifically for this platform. Now that that’s out of the way…

When I think of skEdit, I am reminded of the story The Little Engine That Could. skEdit seems like the underdog HTML editor for the Mac — one that’s all heart; one that does a little and does it very well. If you write CSS and HTML, there’s a lot to like about skEdit, including code hinting/auto-complete, its snippets, and its terrific $24.95 USD price tag.

Continue reading Review: skEdit 3.6.1 »