Dear friends: I've recently downloaded the IBM Websphere HomePage Builder v. 4 for Linux (60-day trial version). I would very much appreciate your opinions on this program. First, you can get the program from: http://www-4.ibm.com/software/webservers/hpbuilder/linux/download.html Here are the files: [sher@localhost IBM-HomePage]$ ls -la total 43052 drwxrwxrwx 2 root root 4096 Jul 12 04:23 ./ drwxrwxrwx 20 root root 4096 Jul 12 02:39 ../ -rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 8065661 Jul 9 08:31 hpb4pug.pdf* -rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 19874235 Jul 9 07:39 hpbuilder-4.0-1.i386.rpm* -rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 14483967 Jul 9 08:26 hpbuilder-tutorial-4.0-1.i386.rpm* -rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 1638464 Jan 20 17:17 hpbuilder-wine-4.0-1.i386.rpm* [sher@localhost IBM-HomePage]$ The Websphere HomeBuilder runs a special IBM version of wine. Installation is absolutely automatic. You just rpm -Uvh the wine file, then the Websphere rpms and that's it. You then type "hpbuilder" as user with the appropriate argument, e.g. $hpbuilder -e brings up the Webpage editor. $hpbuilder -c starts the WebArt Designer interface. That's it. You don't have to mess with the wine file AT ALL except to install it. Once installed, the Websphere HomePage Builder automatically uses it to launch its various programs without any action on your part. Wine remains totally invisible after installation. [sher@localhost IBM-HomePage]$ hpbuilder Usage: hpbuilder [options] -a start the 'Web Animator' program -c start the 'WebArt Designer' program -e start the 'Web page editor' program -f start the 'File Transfer' program -g start online user's guide -t start the 'Multimedia Tutorial' program -u clean up temporary file -h produce this help message -v report hpbuilder version [sher@localhost IBM-HomePage]$ The program costs $69, so, if it's the right thing, it would certainly seem to me to be a reasonable price to pay and a great way to support those who support Linux, in this case, IBM. Now, this program is also available for Windows. MY QUESTION OF THE DAY: In looking over the program, which has extraordinarily extensive documentation (the User's Guide is over 250 pages long and in PDF format, to boot! -- you got to give IBM credit here), I was very impressed (as a newbie, of course) by all parts of the program. HOWEVER, the Linux version uses Netscape 4.x as its browser of choice. My question is: If you design pages using Websphere and Netscape 4.x in Linux, how will these pages look in Windows (and on the Mac)? Websphere does support the latest technologies and standards and protocols. However, and here are my two questions, will using the Linux version of Websphere with Netscape 4.x as the test browser guarantee a) that pages and sites generated with Websphere will look just like the pages generated with the Websphere for Windows version? and b) that pages and sites generated with Websphere, either for Linux or Windows, be compatible with both IE and Netscape and Mozilla in general, whatever the platform? I could ask IBM these questions and I will. However, I wanted to get the opinions of USERS. It's not just a question of $69. It's a question of "an ounce of prevention..." I would like to know in advance whether Websphere for Linux (and secondarily, Websphere for Windows) is the right tool for the job. I'd hate to create web sites and pages and then find out I have been using the wrong program. One thing I am sure about. I would like to avoid at all costs using any Microsoft web program like FrontPage. I have already seen what Word97 can do to a web site, and I want to stay away as far as possible from Microsoft's "standards" and tools. I would prefer to use a neutral tool that can handle all platforms. I think the IBM Websphere program may be just what I need. But I need confirmation from experts and users who have actually used it extensively. Thank you very much for listening and I hope to hear from you all. Benjamin -- Sher's Russian Web http://www.websher.net Benjamin and Anna Sher [EMAIL PROTECTED]
