A Web page is a file, plain and simple. However, every file is created either by software or programming languages.

1. Software Created Proprietary Files - The software encodes the data and allows it to be saved as a file and then displayed when opened in that software system (Word documents, Excel documents, etc. can only be read by the software program that created the file)

—OR—

2. Software Created Nonproprietary Files - The software encodes the data and allows it to be saved as a file and then displayed when opened in other software systems (Adobe Writer files, aka .pdf files, Photoshop created graphics files, Web authoring files created in Dreamweaver or FrontPage)

—OR—

3. Programming Created Files - Files are created with programming languages like Java, C++ and Perl or applets like Java applets, CGI scripts and ActiveX or special web programming tools like JavaScript or PHP. Other software can read the programming language, run it and display it on a computer screen.

Browsers can read plain text documents (unformatted; aka ASCII or DOS), HTML text files (formatted text and clickable text), graphics and image files, sound files, video files, streaming audio and video files, animation files, and PDF files.
(see Interlit Website, Chapter 12 http://www.udel.edu/interlit2/chapter12.html)

Managing Files, Website Files and FTP to Server

There are many ways to create Web pages, all of which encode the file in HTML and display the file in a Web Browser window. The advantages of HTML document are

• smaller file sizes
• fast loading speeds
• animation
• color
• graphics and images
• multimedia (including sound and video)
• formatting of text
• display multiple types of files (see above )
• accessibility via Internet
• and more

HTML stands for hypertext markup language. Files created in HTML format are identified by the filename extensions .htm or .html. This allows the browser of other software to identify the file as a readable file and open it and display it onscreen.

HTML allows you to write text and then format the text and display it in special ways. HTML surrounds the text with markup tags in brackets <bold> and </bold> that tell the browser:

• how the text should appear onscreen
• which words are "hyper" or clickable to cause an action
• what action gets triggered when the words are clicked.

Remember, browsers can also display and run graphics and image files, sound files, video files, streaming audio and video files, animation files, and PDF files.

Technically, HTML isn't programming, rather it is encoding text to format the text or make the text the trigger to run a program or applet and display the result onscreen.

There are four basic ways to create Web pages, all of which encode the file using HTML and display the file in a Web Browser window as well as displaying or playing the results of any clickable hypertext.

• Text Editors - they allow you to type text and save the file without any formatting except font choice. (no color, tables, etc.) You use HTML markup tags to tell the browser how to display the text onscreen. Examples are Notepad that comes with the Windows operating system and Simpletext that comes with the Mac operating system.
• HTML editors - they generally are a step up from text editors that display side-by-side windows, one that lets you edit the HTML code and the other to show what it will display onscreen. They use icons, menus and buttons to help you insert the HTML tags. Examples are HomeSite, popular with Windows users and BBEdit Pro, popular with Mac users.
• HTML Translators - some proprietary software allows you to create a file in its language and then save it in HTML format to create a quick Web page. These software systems (sometimes called bloatware) usually write imperfect code and don't always display well. But they are a quick way to make a Web page from an existing document of file. Examples are WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and others.
• WYSIWYG Editors - also called HTML authoring tools. WYSIWYG stands for "What You See Is What You Get. They allow you to create the Web Page on screen in a visual way while the Editor writes the HTML code for you in the background. Usually they include powerful additional features like FTP for uploading the files to the Web host while you are working, easy insertion of scripts, animation generation, image map creation, complex tables, forms and many other features that are difficult to create through hand coded HTML writing. Examples range from the very simple and free Netscape Composer to the powerful Dreamweaver and many others including FrontPage.

Regardless of what tool you use, a good foundation in HTML coding is extremely useful. Frequently, you will want to touch things up in the code directly in order to have full control over what is seen on the screen.

For Reviews see CNET.com
http://builder.cnet.com/webbuilding/0-3881.html?tag=st.bl.3880.dir.3881

For products and Free Downloads see Interlit Site
http://www.udel.edu/interlit2/chapter15.html