Aptana’s Awesome Web IDE
When the Eclipse platform emerged a couple of years ago, it looked very promising–especially for Java developers. However, it had a strange interface, a project workflow mentality, and it didn’t seem to handle the typical web stuff very well. The Aptana integrated development environment (IDE) changes all that. It may even have the right stuff to knock Dreamweaver off its lofty perch.
J Wood tipped me off to its excellent JavaScript editing abilities and, indeed, this is where Aptana shines. This is easily the best JavaScript editor I have ever used. Thoughtful features such as Code Assist (pop-ups to help complete your code), built-in JavaScript and DOM documentation, real-time online help, outline views, macro scripting, and built-in support for the major JavaScript libraries (e.g., Dojo, Mochikit, Prototype) make JavaScript coding an absolute joy. This alone should earn Aptana a place in every developer’s toolset, but there’s more.
Aptana is a great all-around web editor that handles HTML and CSS with equal poise. There’s Code Assist for HTML and CSS–which proves particularly useful when coding CSS. Type a pound sign (to start an id selector) and all the relevant id selectors pop up. Ka-chow! Since Eclipse beats as its heart, Aptana can take advantage of the myriad plugins already out there such as the Subclipse plugin for tight Subversion version control integration (I can’t recall hearing that Dreamweaver handles version control as well–and certainly not without cost). This implementation of Eclipse also thoughtfully offers a file view of your local hard drive (obviously understanding that we all don’t necessarily want to start a project to edit code). Aptana runs on the Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms and is noticably faster than Dreamweaver on the Mac.
To be sure, there are some bugs and rough edges in this beta version application. But the pluses certainly outweigh the negatives. Future versions of Aptana are scheduled to receive FTP support, debugging capabilities, PHP and ASP.NET support, HTML validation, and refactoring tools. If you’re a web developer looking for a cross-platform editor to make JavaScript and Ajax sing, Aptana deserves a download and a look-see. Did we mention it’s free?
I’m curious whether anyone has any feedback on using the Aptana IDE on OSX. I’m looking for that “Ultraedit” replacement on Mac. Maybe it’s BBedit? Textmate? It’s certainly not Dreamweaver 8.
My limited exposure on a Power Mac Dual 2GHz was favorable. Aptana zips along much quicker that Dreamweaver and its File View is better implemented than DW’s site navigator. Aptana’s built-in assists, views, and online help make it much more friendly than BBEdit and TextMate, IMHO. On the negative side, the inability to highlight and drag code is a real, um, drag. Otherwise this IDE is pretty solid as an early beta and certainly one to watch.
I’ve been working nonstop on a project and haven’t had a chance to look into this any farther since I last emailed, but this looks dang promising. Once the project is done, I’m on this.
The best thing i liked about Aptana was that it featured native support for popular Ajax framewords like Dojo, YUI etc.
I wish people would stop referring it as Dreamweaver Killer though, I think it generates negative vibes about such a lovely product.
Hi,
Aptana is very perfect IDE for web application.But i have tried to upload the open source svn project into Aptans but i can’t.i have set all proxy setting also please help me on this issue