Euan,
You're user is going to have to have some sort of browser anyway. Its not a
matter of you not wanting them to HAVE to download it, its a question of
whether you are using some technology that is specif to IE. You probably
aren't but if you are using html that is only going to work in IE then
you'll need to change it. This is probably not the case though.
What you now need to look at is probably not an applet (not necessary and
has a a number of disadvantages in this instance), you need to learn a
server side language such as JSP or ASP.net. Unless you have access to
Visual Studio and Microsofts web server, IIS, I would recomend using
JSP/Servlets.
JSP and ASP.net are both easy to learn, but ASP is a Microsoft solution and
as such you need their software in order to get the most of it. JSP isn't as
restricted and their are numerous Application/Webservers that are free.
Also, unlike ASP, the best IDEs are free. Apart from dreamweaver, which i
strongly recommend you getting your mitts on!
I have to say though, that if you don't actually have a reason for using
xml, then I wouldnt use it. Its hard enough as it is. Use it if you have
loads of content that you want to be able to publish in lots of different
formats, otherwise I strongly recommend you use Macromedia's Contribute
software to manage your content. The benefit being that it is as easy as
browsing to the page you want (in the program itself!) and selecting Edit.
You make your changes, as simpley as using Word and then save. Your changes
are published immediately and a copy of all your revisions are backed up so
you can always roll-back. Nice
Also, its very easy to use and as such, you don't have to have any specif
skills in order to use it. This means that many many more people can start
creating content for your site, which is highly recommended because that
what keep the surfers coming back is it not!
Good luck. At the very least i would look at Macromedia and get trials of
Dreamweaver and Contribute. I fyou buy, you'll get a massive discount on the
whole Studio package and a good price on Contribute seperately
Simon
