Battle of the Web Editors

Posted in Web Development, Apple and Applications 3 years, 2 months ago.

I realize many web developers use nothing but a simple text editor for all their coding needs. I will also admit that I was one of those developers who saw no reason for anything but a text editor. I think it’s a combination of ego and laziness on the part of developers. What I mean is that we feel superior to those ‘peons’ who use tools like Dreamweaver to create web content and we are also too lazy to realize that although Dreamweaver is a bloated tool, there are applications that can help and dare I say improve our coding abilities.

For me the change happened the moment I downloaded TopStyle from Bradbury Software. Although the default program layout was a bit clunky for me I was quickly able to alter it to suit my exact needs. I had my XHTML, CSS, or both open in tabs across the top with half of the application window for the source code and half for the web preview. Overall the program was stellar in my opinion and I when I switched to my Powerbook, I soon realized they don’t have a version for mac and I would have to find something new.

Before I had even switched to mac, I had heard a good bit about BBEdit and how great it is. Honestly, I pretty much figured it was the end-all-be-all coding application before I even had the chance to use it. I even talked about how great I thought it probably was with friends and such. Once I downloaded the trial and had some time with it, I was very disappointed. It’s a nice app but nothing like what I was used to with TopStyle, no previewing, clunky UI and so on. I began asking around and everyone pretty much just responds with the typical ‘text editor’ method of coding but I wanted more, especially on a mac. Finally, I remember a little program called skEdit Well, I love it. Although it doesn’t have real-time previewing of the content you are currently editing (it is a feature planned for v.3.6) it has pretty much everything I look for in a web development app. Give it a look.