Week 2 – DQ 2

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of using a Web authoring application, an HTML editor, and a text editor for developing websites. List an example of each tool.

Web authoring tools can vary according to definition, and by functional capabilities. In the broadest sense, they are programs that function as tools to help create Web pages. Depending on the information sources, they can also be categorized by brand, functionality, or a combination.

Web authoring applications are programs that help create Web pages like a desktop publishing programs.  Authoring tools typically require less technical knowledge than programming tools.

Some advantages of web authoring applications are:

• speed and ease to generate code for common features
• code fixes, when necessary, are sometimes relatively simple for a finished product
• reduction of the mundane details of redundant items
• can work with a variety of languages and file formats 

Some disadvantages of web authoring applications are:

• dependence on them can reduce coding skill level 
• reduction of flexiblity: have to work within the program
• not knowing coding makes customizing/troubleshooting more difficult 

Examples:  META Tag Builder          Adobe RoboHelp 8

HTML editors function only with HTML exclusively. It generates the required HTML code for the pages.

Some advantages of HTML editors are:

• Completes HTML for you 
• Checks and verifies syntax in your HTML and typos in your text 
• Attributes are easy to add (click a button) 
• Varying degrees of WYSIWYG display in your Web page 
• Easy to use special characters  

Some disadvantages of HTML editors are:

• Some don’t support all forms, frames, and tables
• More difficult to learn and less intuitive than promised 
• Some add proprietary information 
• Some reformat code

Examples of HTML editor:  Microsoft FrontPage         Dreamweaver

A text editor is a computer program that lets a user enter, change, store, and usually print text only. (characters and numbers, each encoded by the computer and its input and output devices, arranged to have meaning to users or to other programs). Text editors can be used to enter program language source statements or to create documents such as technical manuals. 

Some advantages of using a text editor are:  

• Mastering an editorimmensely improves Web designer productivity as well as capabilities 
• Can also be used on systems without a graphical environment and in terminal windows 
• Improves network speed due to text only  

Some disadvantages to using text editors are: 

• syntax is not highlighted, making debugging or editing a more difficult task 
• coding can be more labor extensive than with other coding programs 
• no WYSIWYG capabilities; makes it necessary to toggle

Examples of plain text editors:  Microsoft Notepad         Apple's SimpleText