Dreamweaver 4 vs. Dreamweaver 8

[kenealy35]

What are the big differences between Dreamweaver 4 and Dreamweaver 8? I am just beginning site development and I have access to both applications. Which should I learn on?

[wideboy]

From CNet's Dreamweaver 8 course:-

What's New in Dreamweaver 8
New and improved features in Dreamweaver 8 include:
- Visual tools that make it easier to include XML-based data. Simply point a Web page to an XML file or the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of an XML feed, and then just drag and drop fields onto the Web page.
- More support for CSS. With the new CSS panel, you have quick access to styles with its consolidated view and visual representation of the cascade. You can easily review Web page structure with the new CSS layout visualization. With the styles rendering toolbar, see how your Web pages will work with different CSS media types.
- Greater control over design. Use the Zoom feature to closely inspect an image or nested table. Accurately compare page layouts to mockups or measure distances with the new guides.
- Toolbar with common coding features (in the gutter next to the Code view). You can expand and collapse pieces of code to easily focus on particular sections.
- Enhanced support for Flash video. You can add Flash videos in five mouse clicks or less by pointing Dreamweaver 8 to any Flash video file and selecting the playback controls you want displayed.

Who Should Use Dreamweaver
Designers and developers at all levels of experience can benefit from the new features in Dreamweaver. Whether you're mainly interested in Web page layout and design or more experienced with scripting and databases, you can use Dreamweaver tools to create Web pages and sites quickly and easily. It's not necessary to know HTML, CSS, or JavaScript to use Dreamweaver � you can select viewing options for your work. Code, Design, and Split views make it easy to focus on code, design, or both.