Microsoft Goes After Adobe

By Darryl K.  |  Posted 2006-10-10












Regarding the basic IDE capabilities, "Dreamweaver provides a code hints feature," the video said. "Code hints are used to auto-complete code tags, attributes, and values as you type, by providing a drop down list of possible entries. This feature works with HTML and CSS and some, but not all, of the ASP.Net controls. There is no support for code hints in XML or programming languages like Visual Basic or C#."

In the area of debugging support, "Dreamweaver 8 does not have support for debugging server-side code, so troubleshooting pages that include complex logic can be challenging," the video states. But, according to the video, "Visual Studio 2005 allows for a rich debugging environment for several technologies, including JavaScript and server-side code for ASP.Net, which can be written in any .Net language, such as Visual Basic or C#," and Visual Studio also allows for client-side debugging of JavaScript.

Meanwhile, Dreamweaver Version 8 allows developers to create simple server-side code for a variety of technologies, including Microsoft ASP and ASP.Net, as well as ColdFusion, JSP (JavaServer Pages) and PHP, the video said, while Visual Studio 2005 uses ASP.Net Web pages to generate user interfaces in dynamic Web applications. ASP.Net Web pages present information to users in a browser and implement application logic through server-side code that is typically written in Visual Basic or C#.

In the area of Web services consumption, Dreamweaver supports the creation of Web service consumers using Macromedia ColdFusion MX, ASP.Net and JSP, the video said. Consuming a Web service in Visual Studio is "very straightforward," the video said. "In Solution Explorer, reference the context menu of the project and select 'Add Web Reference.' You can then enter a URI reference to the WSDL of the Web service you wish to use."

However, "Dreamweaver 8 does not have support to create server-side solutions to publish Web services," while Visual Studio 2005 allows developers to reference the context menu of a project, select "Add item" and then choose "Web Service" from a list of templates, the video said.

The art on the Web page describing the video depicts a balled fist with the letters "VSDW" written on the knuckles to indicate a bare-knuckled battle Microsoft is inviting Adobe to, pitting Visual Studio against Dreamweaver. And, according to the claims in Microsoft's video, Visual Studio has the tools to win that battle. We'll have to see what the market says.

Senior Editor Darryl K. Taft can be reached at darryl_taft@ziffdavis.com.

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