Software

Web & Database Servers

Access 97

It was an easy switch, financially, to MicroSoft's Access 97 from the DBaseIII which I had been using since 1984, and it has proven to be a wise switch too.

 

Access 2002

I finally had to upgrade when I needed SOAP and xml capabilities. I don't have enough experience yet to compare with 97, though the help files seem weaker at first glance.

 

Personal Web Server (free with FrontPage)

This Windows server, which comes bundled with FrontPage, has been more than adequate for development work. It has allowed me to test all aspects of a web site that is destined for a Unix/Linux server home, including Perl cgi scripts and MySQL database functionality.

 

.tifPerl 5.6.0.623 (Open Source and free)

Once I got over the setup hurdles for this Perl for Windows installation I've had no troubles at all running perl scripts on my personal computer

 

MySQL for Windows (Open Source and free)

This Windows version of the MySQL database server has also been trouble free since its installation.

Browsers

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0

I don't care for the Microsoft monolith any more than next person, but I'm not above taking advantage of their taking advantage of me (short-sighted as that may be). Internet Explorer is free and it works. I've been upgrading regularly and I did pay a bit (twice already) to have new versions sent to me on CD-Rom so I'd have a backup. I'd pay more, if necessary, to keep it. 

 

Netscape Navigator 4.7

Netscape came to me bundled in my server's setup package. It was free too, and I have updated it since then, but I use it only to check on the compatibility of my web sites. Netscape seems slower than IE and more quirky. Here are my two cents worth on the differences that matter to me.

Editors

Microsoft FrontPage98

Microsoft strikes again. First they hooked me by offering Access97 to DbaseIII users for the upgrade price, then again by offering FrontPage98 to Access97 users for the upgrade price.

But I haven't been sorry. FrontPage98 is reliable and very useful. The WYSIWYG editor alone is worth the price and the FrontPage98 Explorer is just my cup of tea. I'm forever renaming pages and images as a site develops and the Explorer nicely fixes all the relative links for me.

I was leery of FrontPage at first because its 'extensions' or 'web-bots' are useless on a UNIX server. I was relieved to find that simply ignoring them did not reduce the possibilities and that my published FrontPage webs worked perfectly.

Here are some of the features that I rely on (and a few that I don't)

• I almost always work from the FrontPage Explorer's Folders View. Occasionly I'll use the All Files, Hyperlinks and Hyperlink Status to check for broken links and orphan files. I've used the Navigation and Themes Views only on my own, local intranet since they both require FrontPage web-bots.
• I used to regularly Publish my webs from the FrontPage Explorer. If I've only edited and added pages this is very reliable, but for moving files around or setting up cgi scripts I used an FTP program. Now I do all my publishing with SitePublisher
• In the FrontPage Editor I use almost all the items on the Standard, Format and Table Toolbars. I tend to use outside applications to deal with graphics, scripts and other active elements.
• The New Frames Page dialog is useful to set up frames, and the split window Frames Editor mode works well, although it is somewhat cumbersome when you're only making simple changes.

 

Note Tab Pro 4.83

There are many times when I need to escape the confines of the FrontPage editor. Sometimes it is simplest to quickly call up Notepad, but for any extensive work on html, javascript or perl, Note Tab Pro has become my principal text editor. It's like a faithful (quiet!) dog that waits patiently on my toolbar, always remembering where I left off and where I've been. Besides the regular text editing features, these have proven most useful to me:

• open many files at once, each with a tab for quick access
• recall all previously open files and positions when Note Tab is restarted
• reopen files from a long history list
• open a second window for file comparison
• undo and redo many steps
• backup files automatically
• hilight html with color coding
• number lines for error location
• indent automatically
• match brackets in complex javascripts

Graphics

JASC Paint Shop Pro 7

This paint program is my workhorse in the graphics department. No doubt it would have been nice to get Adobe's graphics program, but Paint Shop Pro does what I want, and more, for a reasonable price (It has been likened to a David against the Adobe Goliath).

 

Microsoft Image Editor (bundled with FrontPage98)

FrontPage98 comes with its own image editor. It has unique effects and layering options that complement those in Paint Shop Pro 4.

 

Microsoft Gif Animator (bundled with FrontPage98)

This very basic GIF Animator also comes with FrontPage98. It simply allows you to string together a bunch of GIFs that you've made elsewhere into your very own animated GIF, or to take apart and fine tune the speed or sequence of any animated GIF. No help is offered and little is needed.

 

Pixel 3D 1.10

Pixel 3D, which was sold to me by the makers of Paint Shop Pro, is a powerful program for creating 3D objects and logos. It took a great deal of time and effort to wrap my mind around the (probably generic) 3D editing concepts, but it was worth it. Pixel 3D's help was written by techies for techies and isn't of much use to the novice. But trial and error is often a more thorough teacher anyway.

 

ScreenMeasure (freeware)

After years of guessing pixel numbers and holding rulers up to the monitor I finally found a great little virtual ruler that I can drag around the screen to measure objects and distances with magnifying glass precision. It even declares the colour value of the end point pixel.

 

Colorer (freeware)

In any situation where I need to quickly match a foreground or backround colour to some object without opening that object in an image editor, this little utility allows me to set my sights, through a maginifying glass, on colours anywhere on the screen, and then hold on to the Hex colour value for later use.

 

BrowserSizer (freeware)

This quick alternative to the hassle of changing screen resolutions in order to check on the compatability of web pages simply resizes your browser window at the current resolution to mimic any of the three common screen sizes, even to the point of making it larger than your screen (in which case you'll need to drag it around to see it all).

Utilities

DBTools (freeware)

This utility is a great way to connect to a MySQL database either at home, or on-line, however it only works on-line where the host has granted permissions beyond its own, local environment.

 

CuteFTP 2.8

CuteFTP is the file transfer protocol program that I use to do specialty maintainance for web sites on servers, like setting up and maintaining CGI scripts or retrieving logs and guest books. CuteFTP was introduced to me by my first server and seems highly recommended by other software sources as well.

 

Site Publisher 2.2.48

After messing around for years with the FrontPage publisher and doing manual uploads with CuteFTP I knew what I really wanted. When I finally found Site Publisher, it matched my specifications exactly. This program is the cat's meouw. It maintains multiple sites with options in each site to exlude files, to set permissions for certain types of files and to sychronize local copies with changing pages (like guestbooks) on the server.

 

PuTTy 0.53b (freeware)

PuTTy has added SSH capability to my telnet needs (useful for testing CGI scripts and for setting up MySQL) wherever permission is granted (which is less and less).

MSIE Cache Explorer 4.51

I use this utility regularly to locate files in my cache, to selectively clean it out and to archive sites for reference purposes. Files are presented in an Explorer type window with domains on the left and all the files cached from a selected domain on the right. A separate version is available for Netscape users.

 

Search and Replace for Windows 3.5

After looking in vain for a flexible meta tag editor I opted for this still more flexible general purpose tool. There are no limits here - any kind of wholesale replacement operation is possible and can be saved to a use-again script. The scripting syntax is not for the faint of heart but it covers all the bases.

 

ExamDiff (freeware)

This free version of a more capable shareware program has proven very useful in comparing versions of the same script and hilighting the differences so that I can bring things into line.

 

WP2Html

This conversion program for Word Perfect (and now also Word) files does what Word Perfect and Word should have done for themselves -- create html that is appropriate and isn't burdened with a thousand useless tags. The configuration syntax proves again that short term pain means long term gain.

Vakcer Project Tracker 1.5

Where has the time gone? if I really want to know I can run this utility in the background and log the time spent in various applications for a specified project.

 

Microsoft Script Debugger (freeware)