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Subject:Re: a beginner's html-editor? From:Steven Anderson <Steven -dot- Anderson -at- BRIGHTWARE -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 8 Feb 1999 09:25:07 -0800
Whether to teaching HTML using a plain text editor or a GUI editor is really
a question of what you are trying to teach. Are you trying to teach someone
the basics of the Web in the simplest possible manner, or are you trying to
teach about HTML?
If you are giving a quick overview of the Web and explaining how to put up a
simple set of web pages, than a GUI editor is probably the best option.
If you are trying to teach your students about HTML, then using a plain text
editor is much better than teaching it using a GUI editor. Learning how to
write HTML in a text editor teaches you a lot more than just how to get
something on the Web, it helps you understand the structure and nature of
HTML, as well as it's (many) limitations. On top of all that, it helps you
understand what is going on when something breaks (or misbehaves) allowing
you to fix the problem quickly and easily.
To answer the first question, though, if you are planning on using a GUI
editor, and assuming you need it for the PC, I would second John Gilger's
recommendation - Arachnophilia. If you are not using a GUI editor, use
whatever text editor is available. I really prefer emacs, but that's just
the old coder in me.
