Thanks for the reply Mike.
Personally we would not use either set of extensions within an enterprise solution. We much prefer (if the budget allows) to opt for all out custom/bespoke code in such a circumstance. Some clients actually demand this. I would like to go in to details but am restricted by various NDA's and The Official Secrets Act. Enough of that anyway back to the thread ;)
Personally I started writing HTML in a text editor way before WYSIWYG platforms like Dreamweaver. It was difficult and time consuming and the reference manuals for HTML Standards were the size of building blocks. It was not an easy job and we earned our money in those days. Communicating across various platforms and architectures was difficult as well as the browser wars and each respective browsers ability to process HTML differently caused many issues with compatibility. It was all a mess. The advent of WYSIWYG technology lead to more rapid development within this realm and things became a lot easier but have always had quirks here and there. The cost of developing an online presence fell and the bubble burst as thousands of new developers emerged as the Internet grew and software became more available at a lot lower cost, not only that it helped to simplify things a great deal and many developers lost touch with the nuts and bolts that held it all together.... Sorry I do not mean to inform you of something you may already know I simply want to cover a little of my history...
Developing tools and applications is a specialised task and has always carried with it many complications let alone the steep learning curve involved within some if not all areas. Suggesting something is too complicated to use is simply a reflection of not spending enough time educating ones self to use it correctly and is not a worthy excuse for abandoning useful tools. You will soon find yourself far removed from the leading edge and fall behind rapidly emerged within redundant and outdated technologies which can lead to compromise and compatibility conundrums. No disrespect intended Mike, it's just my opinion. To be honest I enjoy the challenge of learning new software and would not be where I am today if I did not persevere in this area of teaching myself new tricks on a daily basis.
I think it is all about having a toolbox with tools you understand and can exploit to obtain the best possible results for the task at hand. An adjustable spanner is great but I would not like to remove a trucks wheel with one (although you could if you wish), excuse the poor analogy.
Competition among companies such as WebAssist and DMX are positive catalysts. I am sure one pushes the other and vice versa. Together they break new ground in different areas, and sometimes the same ground is broken by both but in different ways. It is what is familiar to us as the users of these tools that persuade us to adopt one or the other or in some circumstances both (sounds like we both use a mix of these extensions). Never say never and you're never too old to learn I say. Server Connect may look like you need an MIT education from the outside but after an hour or two it is intuitive, simple, and very good at what it does in my opinion. With regards to bugs and furthering development I have not had a problem and the Technical Support is fantastic. DMX like WebAssist is probably a small team of friends who have a lot of work to do and keeping everyone happy is difficult so they share the burden and do what they can. Sometimes choosing to advance one tool to allow for new features and then going back to another tool to build in compatibility (common occurrence in most software) . An idea comes up and is explored leading to new ideas for old ideas and you find yourself going back to build in functionality within the old ground to meet and merge with the new ground. Hope that makes sense? Sometimes things get put on hold for the greater good and this happens everywhere within this business. When the updates become available we enjoy them and often think to ourselves that's how it should have been done in the first place. The problem is it is not always that simple.
Another aspect is keeping everything organised. Have backups. Know your files and file sizes. Watch the time stamps. Run one production server or even many, and several test servers. Plan your updates and roll them out once you have verified everything works etc.
Again apologies I do not wish to appear as I am talking down to you and am just sharing some helpful procedures and ideas I have adopted to make my life easier and the lives of the people that may inherit any of my projects in the future (all my code is commented nicely not just for me but for everyone to understand). These are things I have grown in to and now have become second nature to me.
I know I have gone off on one but I find it hard to digest that people call software bad or imply such emotions simply because they do not understand it. In that case it's not the software it's the user.
I like the WebAssist extensions but they are becoming old. There is not even support for Bootstrap for example. Data Assist does not recognize new input types. And there are a whole host of things that could do with tidying up or removing all together. That's not to say I will not use WebAssist it just means I have to adapt it and fill in the gaps sometimes. And as I say above I like the challenge. BUT I would also like some updates! Like everyone I do not wish to spend all my life working so the faster I can develop projects the more time I have as free time to do what I wish with.
Blimey I only wanted to write a quick reply.... I could go on and on and on and on but will stop here and go for coffee.
Finally I say thank you to all those at WebAssist and DMX for the tools and support they provide.
Peace!
Dave.
