Web Matrix is a hobbyist tool created by Microsoft for web development. Its part of the ASP.NET project and is free for download. Web Matrix is the forerunner to Microsofts Web Development Express package. Certain features were taken from Web Matrix and placed into the Web Developers express product. Web Matrix is mostly used for ASP.NET development biut you can save .cs files and create them making it good for C# development. You can also use Web Matrix to create static HTML pages, edit text files and is great at creating interactive web pages. Being that WDE is in circulation now I dont know what the future is for WebMatrix. Whether Microsoft kills the development of Web Matrix or opens it up to the Open Source community is unknown at this time. Although there is no official support, forum support is available.
Visual Studios Express is Microsofts developer tools cut down and repackaged seperately. Visual Basic Express, Visual J# Express, Visual C# Express, Visual C++ Express, SQL Server Express, Web Developer Express are the individual products. These are not crippled versions of their professional package but more or less just individualized. Pricing has not been officially announced but some have stated it will be about $49.00 USD for each product. If you are up to speed with Microsofts development suites then you should have no problem whatsoever using these tools. If you are new to programming you will find Microsofts famous ease of use incorporated. SQL Server Express is the only package I know of that will be free definately.
XMLSpy
XMLSpy is another great developer tool. It doesnt have anything in the way of WindowsForm design but this is more or less a good editor for doing manual syntax. It was recently made free by Altova for home use. You can do many different types of documents using XMLSpy, XML, HTML, Text and even ASP pages. On Longhorn Alpha I was using Visual SlickEdit 9 until my trial period ran out. I started using XMLSpy Home Edition and it works beautifully on Longhorn Alpha. Its also usable on Windows XP Pro and Home as well as Windows 2000. Only the home edition of XMLSpy is free.
Java programming is great if you want to develop cross platform applications. The best way to develop real Java applications is to stay away from proprietary Java tools such as Visual J++ and Visual J#, rather go for an standards compliant stack such as Suns Java or the BEA suite. There are several free IDE's for Java development. The first being Eclipse. Eclipse is an Open Source project to develop an IDE based on the IBM WebSphere toolset. Its allows utilization of plugins and you can enhance it in many different ways. Eclipse lacks the GUI designer that the C# tools offer and to create GUI elements in Java you have to use the Swing toolkit. The second is Netbeans. Netbeans is an IDE developed by Sun Microsystems also open source. You can enhance Netbeans through the use of plug-ins as with Eclipse, the only downfall with Netbeans is the speed. Its very slow starting and compiling and it takes twice as long to compile the same Java code in Netbeans than in Eclipse. For me, Eclipse is the best tool available for the job.
C++ programming seems to be the top dog programming language in the world today. Everyone seems to love C++. C++ is the cadillac of the development world. Its fairly simple to learn, not as simple as C# or Visual Basic, but if you ae a quick learner you will pick it up in no time. For the newcomer to the programming scene I also recommend Eclipse for developing in C++. The Eclipse C++ IDE is a separate plug-in for Eclipse and doesnt come with the standard download. If you are happy doing Windows only programming and Windows programming gives you the warm and fuzzies use Visual C++. If you are interested in Mac OS X programming use XCode, if you want to write code that you can take across multiple platforms then use Eclipse.
These are all great tools for the nobbyist programmer. As you can see there is a wide variety of products that can be used, some free, some low cost but all of them of great quality. Programmiung over the years has been a pleasure for me. Asl alway look to the web for information. It is impossible for me to list all the resources and programs that are available. For me, Eclipse handles more than 99.9% of my programming needs for Java and C++. I am often inclined to sort of preach Eclipse to everyone but by all means explore your options and use the tools that are best for you. What I may like and dislike may be the total opposite for you so dont cut yourself short and by all means experiment. Learning how to program is hard but very rewarding. Nothing beats the rush of actually writing code and to have your program work. If you are new to programming by all means have fun, if your program doesnt work the first time out then do some problem solving but by all means dont give up.
About the Author
Roberto J Dohnert is a Unix/Linux and Windows Consultant and software developer. His first introduction to Unix based systems dates back to NeXTStep. He is a member of the GNU Darwin Distribution and has made several contributions to that and other projects. His personal webpage is here.
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