I’m new to this whole thing, I need to know for journalism class please!

How does HTML, CSS, Python, Dreamweaver, InDesign, PHP…. what do these things have to do with websites?

You first have to understand the different “layers” when programming:

1. Data layer.
This is the layer storing the data. It is usually in a database (MySQL) or files (XML or plain text).

2. Business logic layer.
This is where you put intelligence on your data. This is mostly developed using a language such as PHP, Python or Perl.

3. Presentation layer.
This is where you present your data. This is HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc.

Dreamweaver is simply an editing tool allowing you to program and accelerate your development. It does have tools to code for you, but you have to understand each component if you are to develop an entire application.