Best HTML5 development platform?

I apologise if I’ve put this in the wrong section. I’m currently planning a web app which I want to create with HTML5. I know there’s lots of HTML5 development tools/frameworks out there but I was wondering if anyone has views on which would be best for me to use considering the following criteria.

  1. I have limited HTML/CSS/Javascript experience (I’m an AS3 programmer by trade) so the simpler the tool to use the better, however I will want to be able to get into depth, something which is literally drag and drop will probably not offer enough for what I want.

  2. A framework/tool set that has backend/cloud integration would be great, I’m thinking something like Parse.com but for HTML5.

  3. Needs to be free or as close as :slight_smile: (I already have the creative cloud CS6 though if that’s an option).

Thanks for any advice!

Notepad…any text editor will do, better with syntax highlighting. HTML is not a programming language, it doesn’t have a framework or platforms…its just a markup language to mark up content. CSS is the same, just a text file with some light structured rules.

I have to agree with logic_earth, Notepad++ in particular is one of my favorites. If you want a enterprise app then go with dreamweaver or frontpage.

No No No! Frontpage is not even made any more! Microsoft killed it so long ago…why would you even recommend it?!

Don’t use front-page or dreamweaver. Those are for design jocks who could care less about quality of the overall web project – just how much it sparkles. Recommending front-page is like that of promoting comic sans usage for long continuous text. If I ran a professional web forum and someone promoted front-page I would ban them for being an incompetent fraud. Promoting things like front-page doesn’t do anything but hurt both the industry and new comer to it. I know people are free to say what they want but expect those who are passionate about improving the quality of the web to call it out because front-page for web development is utter and complete crap. I would go far as to put Dreamweaver in that category but I won’t…

You don’t need a HTML5 framework. What you need to do is if not already familiar learn HTML and CSS. Notice I did not say HTML5, I said HTML. That is because HTML5 is not complete and will only get in the way of learning the basics which when understood can easily be transitioned to HTML5. Considering HTML5 is nothing more than a buzzword for additions and deprecations to HTML4 (draft standard).

What you *may need is a sever-side framework. There are frameworks out there of all kinds from simple to complex from CMSs to merely toolsets. It all depends on the server-side language you would learn, project requirements but *mostly preference. Considering learning any toolset is a huge undertaking. It isn’t to practical to become a master of them all but pick one or two and master those.

That would be the semi-proper way to go about things. The proper but less than ideal building your own framework based on specific project requirements. The completely wrong way relying on tools like Dreamweaver, Front-page, Site-grinder, etc to make critical technical decisions for you which they suck at making.

There are frameworks and other tools for developing mobile apps that may be what biggerplay is referring to. Some to check out are:

http://www.theappbuilder.com/index.aspx

http://www.phonegap.com/
http://jquerymobile.com/
http://www.sencha.com/products/touch/
http://dojotoolkit.org/
http://www.appcelerator.com/
http://www.anscamobile.com/corona/

You are designing a web app. Will this be used for tablets as well as phones? You’ll need to learn HTML in such a way that it scales. The latest buzzword for that is Responsive Web Design, or Fluid Layouts, which is designing a site so it scales well across a range of screen sizes.

  1. Use Notepad on Windows or Textedit on the Mac. Nothing fancy. Keep your Google browser open at the side so you can refresh the page and see how you are doing. Learn to use Google Tools to decipher errors quickly.

  2. If you are using a few pages, try iWebkit or Jquery. These are frameworks for web apps.

  3. The above are all free. They will all cost you time to learn.

See my links to learn more about what I was talking about above:
http://iphonedevlog.wordpress.com/phonegapcordova-crib-sheet/

Because I still find it very useful, and others may as well. HTML hasn’t changed that much to where it wouldn’t be, even simple notepad still gets it done :slight_smile: