Where to start with ASP.net in C# and Dreamweaver?

Question

I am looking to start working on a personal site using C#. I work as a web developer and have used VBScript previously and am using Coldfusion now at work. I use Dreamweaver for development in these languages.

I have read a lot of people recommending that you should use a MS IDE to develop in .net and that C# is the way to go in terms of the language. I would like to stick with Dreamweaver as I feel I would be taking on a bit too much to learn how to use a new IDE and a new language at the same time.

Will using something like Visual Studio help with developing in .net so much that it is worth the effort of changing from Dreamweaver? If so which IDE would be best to learn with?

If I choose to stick with Dreamweaver is there any recommendations you can make as to how to best setup Dreamweaver for easy development?

Answer 1

I believe not. Dreamweaver is not a good tool for developing code. This is what you need in ASP.NET. You'll need debugging. You'll enjoy IntelliSense, and you can always open single files in Dreamweaver occasionally (which I doubt you would, anyway).

Grab Visual Studio Express 2013 for Web (which is free) and enjoy. It's a Windows app, like many other Windows apps! You don't need professional training to use it.

Answer 2

As someone who formerly coded PHP in Dreamweaver, I would strongly suggest the use of the Visual Studio IDE for C# ASP.NET applications. The benefits are numerous:

• Intellisense - where any object, property, method, etc. that you create will automatically appear in an auto-complete box, drastically reducing syntax errors
• Project templates - starting a web application from scratch is going to be very very tricky if you have to do it all via source code
• Debugging - errors can be caught and debugged directly in the source code
• Add-ins - my favorite being the Configuration Section Designer

I'm sure there are even more reasons, these are just the biggest ones.

Answer 3

If you feel comfortable using Dreamweaver for design, you can still continue to use it, but I would strongly recommend you familiarise yourself with Visual Studio Express however (it's free). Trying to learn .NET and C# using a text editor or an application like dreamweaver is feasible, but you would be making the learning process unnecessarily difficult. Visual Studio gives you syntax highlighting, intellisense, debugging, and many other features that you just aren't going to get in another IDE targeted at web design. VS is really very strongly coupled to .NET development.

I started my career as a web designer many years ago using Dreamweaver, and have gradually made the transition to software developer. Leaving tools like Dreamweaver behind has actually given me a lot more freedom in terms of working as a designer, and I find that I don't in fact need any tools for markup and css other than a text editor. You may find that abandoning a design tool like dreamweaver actually makes you a better designer; and just as well - the "design" tools in Visual Studio are absolutely useless :)

If you do decide to continue using Dreamweaver for markup, be aware that things may render differently in Visual Studio. Ignore the Visual Studio design pane entirely and just check your design in the various browsers (I'm sure you already do this).

Answer 4

I think you would be very disappointed with the ASP.NET support in Dreamweaver. You would be MUCH better off getting yourself a copy of Visual Studio / Web Developer (express editions are free) and doing your development there.

That said, there's no reason why you can't create your HTML and CSS in Dreamweaver, then bring those files into Visual Studio to actually put in the code. This is kind of a one-time deal though since usually once you've started splitting up your HTML into master pages and user controls/partial views, it's pretty difficult to go back and edit them again in Dreamweaver.