Let me explain why you shouldn’t use Microsoft Frontpage. I’ll even do so in a nice, HTML compliant, bulleted list:
- Many aspects of the program create IE specific code that are not HTML standards compliant (Example).
- The program assumes that the server you are publishing to will have the MS Frontpage extensions installed.
- By default, the program does not include a DOCTYPE on pages.
- It encourages people to run IIS on their local machine (IIS is a huge security issue).
- You learn NOTHING. Don’t think you are learning ‘how to make webpages’ by using MSFP.
- vi, emacs, pico, Notepad, TextEdit, or even Dreamweaver do less damage to the web as a whole that MSFP. If the Web is the environment, then MSFP has poisoned our rivers and destroyed the ozone layer.
I hate FrontPage. It blows goats. When I got back to my dorm and tried to open my lame-o school webpage with Safari (rawk) the page looked all weird and the lame-o marque I had to put into it did not work right and the text was all effed up. What’s the point in taking a class in computer science if you don’t study computer science? Dave, you should send an email to my professor and rant at him for me. He thinks I’m nuts when I try to argue with him about these things. His motto, “If you ain’t Microsoft, you ain’t.” Well, I guess I ain’t and I really don’t want to be either.
Yeah… many years ago I was happy to see it, but I realized it was crappy after a while… but I’ve also been mandated to put up with it and teach it many times (while using Dreamweaver’s split view to make the course web pages behind the scenes!)
But… compared to the MS Word “Save As HTML” crap, I’ll settle for FP code. That puke that that thing spews out has destroyed the web… Word is making PRINTED documents, not electronic ones. Bah!
End of rant.