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Original poster
Sep 4, 2011
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I have moved across to 15" MBP and found so far the there are poor equivalents for notepad++.

Although I am happy with filezilla for mac I am finding programming in mac a bore, music / video editing is great.

Is there any programs that can be recommended whether it is free or not. For html, CSS, php, as a priority.

Many Thanks
 
TextMate is lovely - though insanely overpriced - if you're just looking for syntax highlighting and execution.
 
I'd say expresso is the way forward if you want a notepad++ replacement..

I used to use notepad++ and espresso for me is better.

check it out
 
What are you coding? If you are only doing HTML and CSS (not really programming) then Coda is probably your best bet. However, if you are doing other languages we really need to know what they are so we can recommend the right tool.
 
Sublime

One that I use pretty often when not using xcode (and is pretty comparable to notepad++) is "Sublime Text" http://www.sublimetext.com/ It's not free however it does have an infinite trial period and the trial doesn't seem to have any features cut out either. They even have a portable version so you can run the text editor right off of your USB key on any OS. It'll inquire every so often about purchasing but not overly-so. I'd highly recommend giving it a try
 
Coda sucks at previewing the html/css files currently being worked on. Refreshing within coda doesnt actually refresh. It is a nice app, but Espresso is better for a couple of reasons, and here is the big one:

CODE COLLAPSE!

Coda has been around for a while and people have been asking about this feature for a couple of years now, and it STILL doesnt collapse code, ie; close everything within a div tag to focus more on another area of code;

http://i51.tinypic.com/24gtyt0.jpg

Closing declarations is not done in Coda and automatic indentations are done WAY better than Coda.

Also, Espresso has an 'inspector' function where previewing the page and clicking on an are will highlight the areas where the divs, tables, etc exist that isnt visible, so you get to see which areas overlap.

Espresso is way better.
 
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I use Eclipse a lot. There are multiple choices there for HTML/CSS. I don't ask for much more than syntax-coloring, so just about anything will do for editing.

The most useful tools I've found aren't editors:

SASS - extends CSS with variables, mixins, and other goodies. Compiles into static CSS files.

There's also LESS, similar to SASS but implemented browser-side in Javascript. Haven't tried it, but a fascinating idea. I gather then you can actually use variables at run-time.

Safari Web Inspector. Like Firebug for Safari. Hate the new attached window, though. Unfortunately, A lot of people hated the old detached window....

Live CSS Editor Safari extension. A HUGE productivity boost! You can add CSS on-the-fly and see the result instantly.
 
wikus said:
I wouldn't recommend using Safari for web development.
Click to expand...

I'm developing iPhone apps using an embedded browser control for UI. I'm using Rhodes, which gives me a Ruby server that the browser window talks to. It's possible to connect to the server with an external browser during development, and for obvious reasons Safari is the logical choice...
 
jtara said:
There's also LESS, similar to SASS but implemented browser-side in Javascript. Haven't tried it, but a fascinating idea. I gather then you can actually use variables at run-time.
Click to expand...

LESS can also be made to produce normal CSS before you deploy to production in the same way as SASS works. You just need to have node.js installed and then install the LESS compiler as a node.js module and away you go.
 
I am a basic at programming. I am aware of what needs to be included in a website.

But I still learning how to put into practise, some website tecniques. With BrowserShots

I will be using;

  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JS
  • PHP

Other such as CSS3 and HTML5 will be worked on later. I have made sites such as;


With ease, but at this time I am having to use. cPanel "File Manager" to amend my code. I will look at these programs that you guys have mentioned.

------

On a sepearate topic I have to create a project. This project will be php based calendear system. It will have alot of CSS content, but wil have some JS content also.

I am aware that it is a big jump however, I start the project jan. So I need some decent programming apps/programs to enable me to complete the job.

I hope this helps, with some reccomendations.

thanks all!
 
My personal favorite editors for OS X include:

BB Edit
Text Wrangler
ActiveState Komodo Edit
Aptana Studio (standalone based on Eclipse, or as Eclipse plugin)

I use them all frequently for HTML, CSS, JS, and PHP. Komodo and Aptana are great for HTML and CSS, though they are not as nimble as BB Edit and Text Wrangler.

As such, I find myself using BB Edit the most for larger projects, and Text Wrangler is my "go-to" editor (aside from the editor built into Path Finder).
 
For testing web design code, I would recommend using not only Safari, but Firefox, Google Chrome, and even internet explorer (as some people still use it) as well. The reason for this is sometimes a website will look good on safari, but then when you view it on Firefox or internet explorer, its not quite what you expected (such as borders around linked image and stuff). Each browser has its restrictions and supports different elements. You must code your website so it looks good on all internet browsers, not just one.
 
John444 said:
For testing web design code, I would recommend using not only Safari, but Firefox, Google Chrome, and even internet explorer (as some people still use it) as well.
Click to expand...

IE is by far the most popular browser still. It's not with tech-savvy people, but the vast majority of the world doesn't fit into that description.
 
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