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Linux/UNIX Text HTML Editors

From Jennifer Kyrnin,
Your Guide to Web Design / HTML.
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Text editors are HTML editors that allow you to manipulate the HTML tags directly. Some HTML text editors also include a WYSIWYG editor, while others are purely text. This is my list of the best HTML text editors for Linux/UNIX.

1. Aptana IDE

Aptana IDE is an interesting take on Web page development. Instead of focusing on the HTML, Aptana focuses on the JavaScript and other elements that allow you to create Rich Internet Applications. One of the things I really like is the outline view that makes it really easy to visualize the DOM. This makes for easier CSS and JavaScript development.

2. Screem

Screem provides a versatile text Web page editor and XML editor. It recognizes the doctype you're using and validates and completes tags based on that.

3. KompoZer

Kompozer is a great WYSIWYG editor. It is based on the popular Nvu editor - only it is called the "unofficial bug-fix release." Kompozer was conceived by some people who really liked Nvu, but were fed up with the slow release schedules and poor support. So they took it over and released a less buggy version of the software.

4. Nvu

Nvu is a great WYSIWYG editor. I prefer text editors to WYSIWYG editors, but if you don't, then Nvu is a great choice, especially considering that it's free. I love that it has a site manager to allow you to review the sites that you're building. It's surprising that this software is free. Feature highlights: XML support, advanced CSS support, full site management, built-in validator, and international support as well as WYSIWYG and color coded XHTML editing.

5. Amaya

Amaya is the W3C Web editor. It also acts as a Web browser. It validates the HTML as you write it, and since it defaults to showing you the tree structure of your Web documents, it can be very useful for learning to understand the DOM and how your documents look in the document tree. It has a lot of features that most Web designers won't ever use, but if you're worried about standards and you want to be 100% sure that your pages work with the W3C standards, this is a great editor to use.

6. SeaMonkey

SeaMonkey is the Mozilla project all-in-one Internet application suite. It includes a Web browser, email and newsgroup client, IRC chat client, and composer - the Web page editor. One of the nice things about using SeaMonkey is that you have the browser built-in already so testing is a breeze. Plus it's a free WYSIWYG editor with an embedded FTP to publish your Web pages.

7. Arachnophilia

Arachnophilia is not free - it's "careware", but just because you don't have to pay cash for it doesn't mean it's not a good product. In fact, it's a great text HTML editor with a lot of functionality. The color coding makes it easy to use. It may or may not work on Mac and Unix. Feature highlights: Color coded XHTML editing.

8. Komodo IDE

Komodo IDE is a great tool for developers who are building more than just Web pages. It has support for a wide variety of languages including Ruby, Rails, PHP, and more. If you're building Ajax Web applications, you should take a look at this IDE.

9. Bluefish

Bluefish is a full featured Web editor for Linux. A lot of the features like HTML checking and spell checking require external programs, but they are common programs on most Linux systems. It is primarily a code editor, not specifically a Web editor. This means that it has a lot of flexibility for Web developers writing in more than just HTML, but if you're a designer by nature you might not like it as much.

10. NetBeans

NetBeans IDE is a Java IDE that can help you build robust Web applications. Like most IDEs it has a steep learning curve because they don't often work in the same way that Web editors do. But once you get used to it you'll be hooked.

What is your favorite HTML editor? Write a review!

Do you have a Web editor that you absolutely love or positively hate? Write a review of your HTML editor and let others know which editor you think is the best.
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