HTML Gate 2000

His name is Michael Pham, and he's a 17-year-old from Denmark. The kid gripes me to no end.

At 17, my greatest ambition was to get a date and pay for it by hustling pool. In that same time, Pham has created seven versions of HTMLGate 2000, a text editor that ranks among the better such tools that I have found - and he has a girlfriend. In fact, there is only one feature that would keep me from doing away with the rest of my HTML programs and using HTMLGate exclusively - it doesn't have word wrap in the editing window.

Granted, as my own teen-agers are quick to point out, when I was 17 there were no such things as computers. According to them, there were also no such things as pencil, paper, the wheel, and fire. No wonder I can't wait for them to go away to college.

What Pham has created is an HTML editor for the intermediate to expert user. Not only is it an HTML editor, but it also has editing capabilities and tags for Javascript, VBScript, DHTML, support for ASP and XML, its own drag-and-drop FTP program, image tools, a GIF animator, sound recorder, style sheet editor, and clipart.

Other features include a frame editor, CodeSweeper, Body Grabber, Flash- Shockwave- & ActiveX Support, improved Auto-Complete, PHP, CSS, CGI, SMIL, HDML, VHTML, and Cookies implementation and support.

Did I mention that I could dunk a basketball at age 17?

Pham not only includes the tools to make those scripts, but he also provides dozens of scripts from the various languages to use on your web sites.

That brings us to the other mystery about the program (the first is not having word wrap) - it is free! Corporate users can pay about $200 for the program, but individuals get it gratis.

There are some bugs in the program, although my test revealed very little. Those, in time, I suspect will be worked out. Hey, the kid is 17 - give him a break!

What Pham has done is try to make things as easy as possible, therefore enabling those using the program to speed along at a fairly rapid rate. His table editor, forms, and frames editors, for example, are straightforward and clean to use.

In fact, he has done a nice job of making the entire interface clean and crisp despite packing tons of material into the program. Many others would do well to learn how he gets so much into a 2.5-MB program.

Most of the common commands are accessible from the typical icon-type buttons at the top of the program. Above that are numerous drop down menus, many with sub-menus, which enable users to get more in-depth with each topic.

The program features both internal and external previews, various multimedia supports, HTML compressor, and a complete list of tags.

One area that could be improved is the clarity of the process for putting images into an HTML page. There is no drag-and-dropping of photos. There is an icon to choose labeled "clipart" that does allow you to preview photos and then put them into the HTML page, but for clarity it would better be labeled "clipart/photos" or simply "images".

Further, when searching for photos in the "file manager," users have to choose "*.*" to get photos to show up. It's a minor inconvenience once found, but users do have to look for the solution.

On the other hand, because the program is free and offers so much, it won't hurt users to search a little bit.

At the MPS site, you can also find other free programs from Pham, including JavaScript 2000, Visual Basic Editor 2000, PHP Editor 2000, Perl Editor 2000, SQL Editor 2000, Sybase SQL Editor 2000, C++ Editor 2000, and Drag & Drop FTP 2000.

Pham's stated goal is to satisfy users' requirements for free useful software, and it appears he has done quite well with the donations he has received. It almost makes me feel guilty about charging kids protection money at the inner-city high school I attended.

So now Pham is generous, too. I guess, as I conclude this review I am left with only two questions: Can the kid play pool? Can he dunk a basketball?