Amateras – An Aptana Alternative?
Monday 6 April 2009 - Filed under Code
One topic that pops up constantly on the CFEclipse mailing list is what do you use to edit HTML/JS/CSS/XML?
The typical answer is Aptana, but I may have found an alternative: Amateras’ Eclipse HTMLEditor.
I’ve just installed and am still digging around but it looks feature rich. There doesn’t seem to be autocomplete for CSS but it does have a neat ‘preview’ mode which shows you want your CSS will look like.
They also have a few other tools I’m going to checkout:
- AmaterasUML – UML Diagrams
- AmaterasERD – ERD Diagrams
- AIR GEAR – Flex and AIR support
2009-04-06 » Jim Priest
6 April 2009 @ 9:25 am
I’m curioius to see if it hijacks your Eclipse install the same way Aptana does. I’d give my right arm to get rid of it for something that doesn’t do that.
6 April 2009 @ 9:28 am
So far there are no annoyances at all. Very unobtrusive plugin…
6 April 2009 @ 9:53 am
@Todd
How is Aptana hijacking your Eclipse install (just curious because I’ve been testing out the standalone version)?
6 April 2009 @ 10:22 am
@Tony: it checks for updates (and who knows what else) everytime I start up Eclipse – and it takes forever.
6 April 2009 @ 10:23 am
WOW – they even have a WYSIWYG for Flex forms. Jim – is this plugin free?
6 April 2009 @ 10:28 am
I think so – I didn’t see any options to purchase anything – though I didn’t look too hard at the Flex/Air plugin (yet).
6 April 2009 @ 4:01 pm
What about the Web Tools Project? I think it does everything these things do and it’s “built in”.
http://www.eclipse.org/webtools/
6 April 2009 @ 5:24 pm
You know I have downloaded WTP several times over the years and it has never worked for me… Not sure if I’m doing something wrong or what… I should try it out again…
7 April 2009 @ 6:43 am
@todd
You can disable the My Aptana page coming up when Eclipse starts. Preferences -> Aptana -> My Aptana / Message Center -> Never Display After Startup.
I’ve found that after doing this, that Aptana startup page doesn’t load and my Eclipse startup isn’t slowed down (although I can’t confirm if anything isn’t happening in the background).
12 June 2009 @ 9:18 am
Personally I love Aptana. It makes working with JS libraries like jQuery & YUI a joy. Code assist for jQuery? I will deal with a few inconveniences for something like that… for free. But then again I am a freetard and I am use to putting up with software quirks. Linux anyone?
I always thought that this is what Homesite or CF studio would be like if they kept on developing it. I miss my old friends. Sob.
24 August 2009 @ 6:04 am
I finally made the move from Dreamweaver to Eclipse. But honestly I can’t choose between Aptana and “Eclipse for PHP”. They both have quirks and features the other doesn’t have. If they somehow collaborated and merged the two projects…wow. Wishful thinking I guess.