web-site development tools

[Paul F. Schaffner]

I spend more time writing and processing SGML/XML-encoded text
than I do HTML, but everything I use will work for either. 
I rarely have time to be as careful or rigorous with the HTML
as with the SGML; much of the HTML is jotted down hastily, or
tacked onto a text file, unvalidated, to turn it into a 
distributable memo.

Though SoftQuad's AuthorEditor (a good, word-processor-like SGML
authoring program) has proven best for some complex document types,
most of my coding is "still" by hand, if that be taken to include 
a lot of batch processing, interactive parsing, and batch
validation. Why? It's fast, flexible, and congenial. But then,
my documents are mostly just encoded *text*, rarely encumbered by 
even so much as an image map, much less a mouse-over or a Java
applet (ymmv).  I use:

-> textpad (http://www.textpad.com/), a marvelous shareware
  ($27) text editor for Windows (3.1, '95, NT) that I have
  come to depend on for even heavy-duty text editing in the
  multi-MB range. It comes with spelling checkers, HTML and 
  Perl clip libraries (among others), a hex viewer, excellent 
  regular-expression search-and-replace, regexp searching across 
  multiple files and directories, and hotlinks from search results 
  to files. Its only weakness is a 4k line-length limitation. 
  Indispensable.

-> the suite of free software comprising Lennart Staflin's PSGML
  (the SGML mode for Emacs: see www.sil.org/sgml/publicSW.html);
  GNU Emacs itself; James Clarke's SP (SGML parser package: see
  www.jclark.com); and Perl 5--all of which run nicely on Win NT
  as well as Unix, and which together make a formidable text-
  processing toolkit for producing and manipulating valid code.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Schaffner | pfs at umich.edu | http://www-personal.umich.edu/~pfs/
o Digital Production Librarian/Coordinator, Middle English Compendium
  301 Hatcher Library North, Univ. of Mich., Ann Arbor MI 48109-1205
o Librarian/Head Tech.Services, Atkinson Learning Resource Center,
  Jackson Community College, 2111 Emmons Rd., Jackson MI 49201
o Volunteer Youth Services Webspinner, Ann Arbor District Library