On 25 Jun 98,, Jack Killpatrick wrote:
> Many times, in order to get a clean, effective,
> readable layout you need to do some html stuff that is either more
> difficult or impossible to do with FP and requires some hand html'ing. And
> please note that, for most developers, hand html'ing usually involves the
> use of other tools that expedite the process greatly. It is not just
> sitting and typing out every single character, every element in a tag,
> every dimensions of an image, etc.
I think this is at the heart of this FP thread: the notion that, no, FrontPage is not
an intrinsically bad or ill-conceived HTML editor; but nor is it a particularly good
one
when compared to the cross-platform efficiency and functionality of "purist" editors
such as HomeSite et al.
I've looked at pages cited by members of the pro-FP camp as examples of its utility
and "clean code", and yes, those examples were fine. A few exterraneous bits of
MS proprietary nonsense here and there, but not bad all round.
On the other hand, none of those pages were especially remarkable; they could
have been layed out and coded just as quickly and HTML-legally by an experienced
developer using a good editor, *without* all the fuss and kafuffle over MS-specific
extensions, etc. In my view, anyway. (I've given both FP 97 and 98 thorough
evaluations, BTW, and was utterly underwhelmed by them... I simply can work
faster and with considerably more cross-platform control using HomeSite, Textpad,
etc, than I can with FP.)
A few correspondents here have noted that a poor workman always blames his
tools, which is true enough as far as it goes. But there is also, as Jack suggests,
the issue of using the wrong tool for the job, no matter how skilfully one may wield
it.
Sure, with practice I could probably learn to use my reciprocating saw to make fine
scroll cuts in things I make -- well, of course I'd have to go back after and clean up
the inevitable broken and jagged bits -- but on the whole I think I'd really rather
use, well, my scroll saw. Likewise FP; personally, I just don't see the advantage in
using an editor which may initially simplify some aspects of page lay-out, at the
expense of sloppy, proprietary and/or erratic code generation. I'd rather just do it
right the first time.
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Brent Eades, Almonte, Ontario
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Town of Almonte: http://www.almonte.com/
Business Web site: http://www.almonte.com/brent/
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