Java for ColdFusion Developers

6.3 Dreamweaver MX

Dreamweaver MX is kind of a cross between FrontPage and HomeSite. It allows you to visually develop Web sites in various scripting languages. It is a mature product that now is composed of the best of many different code editing products from Macromedia. Dreamweaver is not a Java IDE . It is included in this discussion because it supports JavaServer Pages and is an editor that you are likely to use now that ColdFusion Studio has been discontinued. It changes your development landscape a little.

6.3.1 Overview

There is no Macromedia product intended for you to use to write Java programs as we do in this book. Kawa used to be that product, but it has recently been discontinued. Dreamweaver MX is intended for HTML and scripting languages such as ColdFusion, PHP, and ASP. There is reasonable XML support as well. The Dreamweaver MX Code Editor view is shown in Figure 6.2.

In theory (that is, in marketing material), Dreamweaver MX supports Java-Server Pages. It is indeed sufficient if you are going to write simple JSPs that do not use JavaBeans or custom actions. Writing custom actions in JSP (similar to custom tags in ColdFusion) requires creating Java class files, which Dreamweaver won't do.

6.3.2 Where to Get It

Dreamweaver MX is available from www.macromedia.com. There are two ways to get the software: bundled as part of Studio MX and standalone.

6.3.3 System Requirements

Dreamweaver MX is available only on Windows and Macintosh. The system requirements for each follow:

6.3.3.1 WINDOWS

• Pentium II, 300 MHz or higher

• Windows 98, 2000, NT, ME, or XP

• Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher

• 96 MB RAM, 128 MB recommended

• 275 MB hard disk space

• Requires Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.6

6.3.3.2 MACINTOSH

• Power Mac G3 or higher

• Mac OS 9 or Mac OS X 10.1 or higher

• Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher

• 96 MB RAM, 128 MB recommended

• 275 MB hard disk space

6.3.4 Major Features

Because Dreamweaver MX is not a Java IDE, we'll look briefly at what features it has available compared with code editors you're probably used to using.

First, there are a number of things that got lost in the move from HomeSite 5 to Dreamweaver MX (DMX):

• DMX does not have keyboard shortcuts for snippets.

• DMX does not have Code Collapsing (which is great when debugging HTML tables and browser compatibility issues).

• DMX does not allow you to customize your toolbars as you could in HomeSite/Studio.

On the other hand, Dreamweaver MX has some new features that might up the difference:

• DMX supports Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X 10.1; HomeSite/Studio did not.

• DMX supports editing Flash Action Scripts.

• DMX supports ColdFusion MX; HomeSite does not (but HomeSite+ does support it).

Another nice feature of Dreamweaver MX is that you can switch between different setups, depending on what you're used to. You can have the new Dreamweaver MX workspace, which holds project information on the right-hand side with all of your tools docked . Or you can use the old Dreamweaver 4 layout, in which everything floats. Users coming from an Allaire background can have the HomeSite/ coder style that leaves their directories on the left, where they're used to having them, and doesn't clutter the space quite as much.