Re: WYSIWYG (reasons not to use)

> I have been asked to "educate" one of my superiors
> as to the reasons that WYSIWYG code is problematic
> in the maintenance of a web site.

> I maintain a web site and receive html files from
> a variety of users. Just recently, someone gave me
> 72 pages which were prepared in Microsoft Publisher
> 98. I tried them on a variety of browsers/printers
> and got some pretty awful results.

> Since I maintain the site on a part time basis, I
> really don't have time to be constantly cleaning up
> code. I have found that the process of cleaning up
> can be laborious, because in some instances I have
> to figure out what the WYSIWYG code is doing in the
> first place! Also, I believe that because the site
> in question is a civic site, it is incumbent upon
> the site's creators to ensure that, as far as possible,
> it displays properly and consistently across a wide
> variety of browsers and that it prints out properly.

> I want to recommend that all the departments
> standardize on Homesite 4.0 but I need to clearly
> state my case for doing so.

> TIA in advance for all responses to my question.

Reasons not to use Frontpage (Express):

 - Produces Explorer-only codes, like VBscript (although it has been=20
improved recently on that point)
 - Produces strange, IIS-only (called WebBOTs I think, but it has been=20
years since I last use FrontPad) (although Apache has a module for=20
that, *I think*) server-side code

Reasons not to use Composer

 - Produces Netscape-only code, like <layer> (not talking about Mozilla,=
=20
which isn't prime-time ready, yet)

Reasons not to use most other WYSIWYGs:

 - Often prefers tags like <i> and <b> over <span style=3D""> and <stron=
g> tags.=20
Which, greatly hardens the process of reading those pages by people with=
=20
disabilities. This code can also be considered 'less professionnal' and =

'cheapest way of making it work that way, not the 'clean' way'.
 - Consequence of the preceeding statement, it makes such a page real=20
hard to hand-edit (which, right now, for any scripting may it be PHP3,=20
JavaScript or whatever, is a requirement), or to switch to another=20
WYSIWYG.
 - Not always up to the latest standards, often costly to update, and=20
long waiting period for these updates
 - May not support your way of server-side scripting.
 - Often are out of sync with the two major browsers, not to say with=20
Opera, Mosaic, Lynx or others.

That leaves one Major WYSIWYG in the course (if you must finally use=20
one): Dreamweaver. And SURPRISE, it has some integration features with=20
Homesite.

Christian Lavoie
clavoie(at)enter-net.com
UIN: 947212

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