Learning to tackle the basics of Web Development.

The holidays have arrived and I am getting stuck in with my winter plan - mastering HTML and CSS! And it’s going great!

I’m much further ahead than I thought I would be, which should hopefully leave me with some pretty challenging work by the start of next semester.

There are three tools that have got me to where I am.

1. Espresso from MacRabbit. This great HTML editor is clean and powerful. It keeps on top of your files as your projects grow in complexity, and takes care of all your FTP details! If your anything like me, then you’ve got FTP Logins and Passwords coming out of your ears. So Espresso holds all those for your projects, and even lets you use auto uploading of any changed you make as you go along!
2. CSSEdit, also, from MacRabbit. Another great application from MacRabbit, CSSEdit lets you take control of your ever-complexing CSS, and edit every detail with the click of a mouse. Now, it isn’t quite drag and drop for your layout, but heck, it gives you all the drop down boxes you could ever need to edit every little part of your CSS.
3. Google Search from Google. Now that’s an obvious one, but it has so much to offer! I don’t think there has been a problem yet that I have had, which hasn’t been solved by a Google search. We all use it everyday to find information we are after, but I like to use Google to search sites for Code. So i’ll copy and paste in snippets of what I am working on, and see if someone else has had similar difficulties. And hey presto, you’ll likely get a hit!

So I hope these three tips have been of some use. I always find it handy to have a good collection to code to too. My new favorite music service is www.grooveshark.com … no downloads, no ads - what more could you ask for?!?!

Until next time,

Finlay