Tools NOT to use

There are some tools available that we do NOT recommend, and in fact request in the strongest possible terms that you NOT use for web development at EMU. Those tools follow, along with brief explanation for each.

Microsoft FrontPage

This program was one of the early entrants into the "WYSIWYG" web editor marketplace. While it did improve from its earliest versions, FrontPage does not have completely-integrated site management tools. It does not do a good job of writing "clean code." It uses a protocol called FrontPage Extensions, which are proprietary, do not integrate with industry-standard protocols and technologies ("do not play well with others"), and are not supported by EMU. Therefore, if you have created web pages using FrontPage, you should NOT use extensions; they will not function properly on EMU servers. We strongly recommend that you obtain and use Dreamweaver for your continued work.

Microsoft Word

This is not a web development nor design program. It is a word processing program, and should be used only for word processing. The code it creates under the "save as web page" or "save as HTML" option is uniformly non-standards-compliant. In fact, whole programs/scripts have been written by others solely to "clean up" the code created by MS Word. While we ask that you not use Word to create web pages, you may copy-and-paste text from Word into the better WYSIWYG web editor programs, such as Dreamweaver, with acceptable results.

Netscape Composer

Almost no one uses this any more. Please do not be the last holdout. It is a very poor tool. It has a very awkward interface, has few features, and is not flexible. Since the leading web editor programs are quite affordable, there is no reason to use Composer.

Technologies that require additional plug-ins

We recommend that you carefully consider the consequences for usability if you choose to create web sites that require plug-ins that are not standard components of browsers. Be aware that if your site requires a non-standard plug-in, you will be automatically excluding a portion of your potential audience.

CGI-bin / PERL scripts

These are not supported on our server, and have been replaced by PHP, a flexible, general-purpose scripting language. For a user-friendly introduction to PHP, visit this EMU tutorial site. For complete documentation on PHP and a comprehensive tutorial, visit php.net.

Database structures WITHOUT TALKING TO US FIRST.

Many people wish to develop dynamic, database-driven web sites. We do support this type of application development within very specific parameters. We require a pre-existing proficiency with database administration and the sustainability of site development. We also require the use of specific technologies. Please discuss your plans and needs with us BEFORE working on database application development.