Is Dreamweaver a code editor like Sublime, Brackets, BBEdit etc?

[markeeeee]

Last time I looked at Dreamweaver was about 15 years ago. It was more of a WYSIWYG web builder. I get the impression it is now more of a code editor like Sublime, Brackets, BBEdit etc?

[osgood_]

DW lost its way some time ago in my opinion. Personally I don't think it has a clear pathway of who it's really aimed at these days. It still has a 'design/live view' but I would'nt say it was a WYSIWYG workflow, that to me infers a more click and drag approach and its certainly not that. Today, you're right, you would need to have a certain understanding of coding to see any real benefit.

Infact it has introduced much of what is in Brackets, another Adobe product, which has also stagnated in recent years, after a promising start, while other editors have progressed and are still progressing. If I'm honest I don't think Adobe has any appetite for the 'small' web-development market now as its in competition with better independent developers these days, some paid for products and some free.

DW is still a good web editor but way, way too pricey for what it offers in comparrison to other editor of the same if not better standards, it also still suffers from a poor reputation in the 'real' industry'. I dont know anyone that would specifically choose to use it other than as part of the bigger Adobe package, that they might be subscribed to. Probably why Adobe no longer allocates much time to upgrading it on a more frequent basis.

[markeeeee]

Thanks for your reply.

I'm currently using BBEdit to handcode sites, but I suspect that very few other people are using it.

I've looked at Brackets and Sublime but I didn't like them as much as BBEdit, which I find easy to use.

I get DW with Creative Cloud, so was thinking of taking a look at it - but you suggest there are better code editors. Any suggestions?

This might not exist - but ideally I'm looking for an app to write code in, but that also comes with  pre-built "blocks" or "elements" to help build more complicated stuff  like contact forms, responsive drop down navs, slideshows, show/hide etc. Without having to use Bootstrap or Foundation frameworks. A cross between a code editor and Webflow perhaps?

[osgood_]

BBEdit is a fine editor and has been around for many years but lacks many of the expected features of an editor today. Last time I used it v10, I think, it didnt even have 'coding suggestions as you typed' which can help to fast-track the code and no Emmet, another must have for the serious developer today, which also alleviates the need for some repetitive coding.

Have you tried:

1, Visual Studio Code (probably the best FREE editor on the market today)

2 Atom (Free)

3 Web-storm (Paid for - for html/css/javacript work)

4 PHP Storm (Paid for - for dynamic work html/css/javascipt/php)

5 Coda by Panic (Paid for - a bit long in the tooth now but still a nice Mac editor. Look out for their new editor in the near future called Nova, it's in beta testing)

6 Komodo edit (Free - a nice editor but lacks Emmet)

7 Codelobster (Paid for)  - I like it for its simpilicity of use - once you get the color scheme right, by default it looks tierd and dated)

8 Netbeans (Free)

[markeeeee]

I've just looked at Visual Studio Code and don't understand a word of the homepage. "Print statement debugging is a thing of the past" "Git commands built-in." deploy and host your React, Angular, Vue, Node, Python (and more!) sites" This means nothing to me and puts me off.

Same with Atom. I don't have a clue what GitHub is, or what "A hackable text editor" means. I don't want to have to hack my tools!

I don't understand why all the code editors I've looked at try and be smart and use concepts I suspect many people don't have a clue what they are on about.

[osgood_]

That stuff is available IF you want it. If you dont, just ignore it and use what you are familiar with. A hackable editor is just fancy speak for one where you can tune it to your own requirements, rather than being presented with minimal options only, again its not a requirement, if you just want to use the default settings. More advanced developers use more advanced workflows and to that end they are available plus a huge amount of plugins which can be used.

It really all comes down to what you do and how you see yourself developing. The further you go the further you will want to push yourself and ask more questions - you need an editor which is flexible/extendable, one which makes it easier should you wish to progress, but its not mandatory, just an option.

[osgood_]

If you want pre-built then youre looking for something like Webflow or Wix or even Wappler. Whilst Wappler by default uses Bootstrap you don't need to use it and you can still take advantage of its pre-built slideshows/forms generator - there is  a huge learning curve. I have reservations about recommending it though, based on what you're long term ambitions are.