Friday, 9 October 2015

M2 - Notepad vs Komodo Edit - Task 1/6


Introduction

Notepad and komodo edit are both software that can be used to develop webpages. They both have their good and bad aspect. For this reason, this document would be based on the advantages and disadvantages of both komodo and notepad, then based on the pros and cons a conclusion can be derived at which software is most suitable.

Notepad


Notepad is plain text editor that come pre-installed with the operating system Windows. The program can be used for different activities on the computer e.g. you can run batch files on them through command prompt and the fact that it has no format tags means it can be used to develop web pages by adding .html extension when saved.

Advantages of notepad
Disadvantages of notepad
An advantage of notepad is that there is no training needed since the layout is so simple to use. This means that web developers don’t have to spend money on training themselves on how to use the software as it is straightforward. The Microsoft interface that most people are familiar with is another reason why it is easy to use.
A major disadvantage when it comes to notepad is that it is very easy to make errors in the webpage since there is no auto correct and there is no support given in terms of auto complete of html references compared to komodo where it closes the tags for you. Another disadvantage is that you have to already have a browser installed before you can execute the html coding.
Notepad is a free application that comes with your operating system so it helps you save money and it means that you can gain access to it anytime.
Another problem of notepad is that it is only compatible with windows which means that if you tried to open your html on an iMac this would be difficult to do.
The fact that notepad is a pre-installed application means that it is quick to load up and the coding for webpages is executed quickly.
There is not any support given in terms of finding out where you’ve have made a mistake in your html coding if it is not working. This can be difficult for amateur website developers because they wouldn’t be able to find where their mistakes are if the html does not work properly.
Due to the fact that notepad has being available since the earlier version of Windows means that it is a trusted application and it is unlikely to see glitches or viruses run with the program.
Notepad doesn’t give user the opportunity to preview the output webpage of the script while coding. This is a problem because it means that user would not be able to spot mistakes as soon as they make it. So you could be writing a 50 line html and make a mistake halfway and not realise.

 

 

 

 

Komodo Edit


Komodo edit is a program vended by Active State and it is a multi-language editor which makes it compatible with different writing style such as HTML, Python and JavaScript. It is tailored to make webpage development as easy and efficient as possible. It has lots of features to help developers create a good webpage.

Advantages of komodo edit
Disadvantages of komodo edit
Ease of use is strong advantage that komodo edit has due to its formatting where the statements are colour coded, this makes it easy for the user to understand the different part of the scripts . Komodo edit is also an application that is available on most operating system unlike notepad. This makes it easier to use when working in an organisation because you can work on different operating system at work compared to home.
A major disadvantage when it comes to Komodo edit is that the application takes long. This is a problem because when you have a huge html script it is very likely to crash due to the slow speed that the information is being processed.
Auto correct is an available feature so html scripts don’t get executed with mistakes in them. Also suggestion means that tags are used properly and the ones that need a close tag have a close tag i.e <body> </body>
The complexity of the software application makes another disadvantage. The user interface is not simple enough for anyone to just start using the software, you might to go through some tutorials or use the help support.
This software has a good support system that is available in different languages. There are questions and answers so common problems that come up can be resolved by just going to the support area of the software.
Another disadvantage of the software is that before you can use it you’re going to have to install it which can be a problem because it is very easy to download it from an untrusted source which can come with a virus and damage your system.
There is also internal preview of html script available which means that you don’t have to install a browser like chrome before you preview your webpage, also with this feature it is easier to spot mistakes since you can see where you are going wrong as you are developing the page.
The fact that there is also a lot of tabs on the application makes it quite confusing for a beginner. The setting up of template is not easy to understand as well and the wrong template would lead to error being created in the script.

 

Conclusion


It can be concluded that they are both good software applications to use when developing webpages but as a first hand user I believe that komodo edit is better because the application is tailored to developing webpages while notepad can be used for any sort of word processing. Another reason why I think komodo edit is better to use is because of the support that is given and you can learn more about developing webpages from using it because the support pages explain the use of tags and when to use them. Notepad on the other hand doesn’t have this feature.

 

References


Komodoide.com, (2015). Komodo IDE -- One Cross-Platform IDE, All Your Languages. [online] Available at: http://komodoide.com/ [Accessed 8 Oct. 2015].

Notepad-plus-plus.org, (2015). Notepad++ Home. [online] Available at: https://notepad-plus-plus.org/ [Accessed 5 Oct. 2015].

Wikipedia, (2015). Komodo Edit. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_Edit [Accessed 6 Oct. 2015].

Wikipedia, (2015). Notepad (software). [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notepad_(software) [Accessed 6 Oct. 2015].

 

No comments:

Post a Comment