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Apache Thrift VS RegExr

Compare Apache Thrift VS RegExr and see what are their differences

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Apache Thrift logo Apache Thrift

An interface definition language and communication protocol for creating cross-language services.

RegExr logo RegExr

RegExr.com is an online tool to learn, build, and test Regular Expressions.
  • Apache Thrift Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-07-12
  • RegExr Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-28

Apache Thrift features and specs

  • Cross-Language Support
    Apache Thrift supports numerous programming languages including Java, Python, C++, Ruby, and more, enabling seamless communication between services written in different languages.
  • Efficient Serialization
    Thrift offers efficient binary serialization which helps in reducing the payload size and improves the communication speed between services.
  • Service Definition Flexibility
    Thrift provides a robust interface definition language (IDL) for defining and generating code for services with strict type checking, fostering strong contract interfaces.
  • Scalability
    Due to its lightweight and efficient serialization mechanisms, Apache Thrift can handle a large number of simultaneous client connections, making it suitable for scalable distributed systems.
  • Versioning Support
    Thrift supports service versioning which helps in evolving APIs without disrupting existing services or clients.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Thrift

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For new users, especially those not familiar with RPC frameworks, learning and understanding Thrift’s IDL and operations can be complex and time-consuming.
  • Documentation and Community Support
    Compared to some alternative technologies, Apache Thrift's documentation and community support can be less robust, which might pose challenges in troubleshooting or seeking guidance.
  • Lack of Advanced Features
    Thrift does not support some advanced features like streaming or multiplexing out of the box, which could limit its use in complex systems requiring these functionalities.
  • Infrastructure Overhead
    Integrating Thrift into an existing system might introduce infrastructure overhead both in initial setup and ongoing maintenance, especially when dealing with multiple languages.
  • Protocol Limitations
    While Thrift is highly efficient, its protocol limitations might require additional workarounds for certain data structures or transport mechanisms, complicating development.

RegExr features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    RegExr offers an intuitive and visually appealing interface that makes it easy for users to write, test, and understand regular expressions.
  • Real-time Feedback
    Changes to the regular expression and input text are reflected immediately, allowing users to see the effects of their adjustments in real-time.
  • Built-in Cheatsheet
    RegExr includes a handy cheatsheet that provides quick access to common regex patterns and syntax, making it easier for users to learn and reference rules.
  • Community Examples
    Users can explore and share community-generated regex patterns, which can serve as valuable examples or starting points for creating their own regex.
  • Detailed Explanation
    Each part of the regex pattern can be hovered over to display detailed tooltips explaining its function, aiding in the understanding of complex expressions.
  • Cross-Platform Accessibility
    As a web-based tool, RegExr can be accessed from any modern browser without the need for installation, making it convenient to use on multiple devices.

Possible disadvantages of RegExr

  • Limited Offline Use
    Since RegExr is a web-based application, it requires an internet connection, limiting its utility for users who need to work offline.
  • Learning Curve
    While the tool is user-friendly, users still need to have a foundational understanding of regular expressions to use RegExr effectively.
  • Performance Issues
    For extremely large inputs or very complex regular expressions, the tool may experience performance lags or slowdowns.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    RegExr may lack some advanced features found in more specialized or professional regex tools, such as integration with development environments or extensive scripting capabilities.
  • Privacy Concerns
    Users inputting sensitive data need to be cautious, as the web-based nature of the tool could raise privacy or data security concerns.

Analysis of Apache Thrift

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Apache Thrift is considered to be a good option for projects needing cross-language communication and efficient serialization. Its efficiency and wide adoption have proven it to be a reliable framework in many production environments.

Why this product is good

  • Apache Thrift is a widely used framework for scalable cross-language services development. It allows for seamless communication between programs written in different languages by providing code generation and serialization capabilities for a variety of languages. Thrift supports an efficient binary protocol and is highly customizable, making it a robust choice for services that require performance and flexibility. Additionally, it's an open-source project under the Apache Software Foundation, which ensures it has a strong community and ongoing updates.

Recommended for

  • Organizations that require cross-language service communication
  • Projects that need high-performance and low-latency data transmission
  • Developers looking for a framework with support for multiple programming languages
  • Teams looking for a customizable serialization protocol

Analysis of RegExr

Overall verdict

  • RegExr is widely regarded as an excellent tool for working with regular expressions due to its comprehensive feature set and ease of use.

Why this product is good

  • RegExr is considered a good tool for learning, creating, testing, and sharing regular expressions (regex). It offers a user-friendly interface, extensive documentation, real-time regex parsing, highlighting, and explanations, making it accessible for both beginners and experienced users. The platform provides a library of community-contributed patterns and a robust set of tools that helps users understand and construct regex patterns effectively.

Recommended for

  • Beginners learning regular expressions.
  • Developers needing to test and refine regex patterns.
  • Educators teaching regex concepts.
  • Anyone requiring an intuitive interface to work with regular expressions.

Apache Thrift videos

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Thrift and RegExr)
Web Servers
100 100%
0% 0
Programming Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Web And Application Servers
Regular Expressions
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, RegExr seems to be a lot more popular than Apache Thrift. While we know about 368 links to RegExr, we've tracked only 13 mentions of Apache Thrift. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Thrift mentions (13)

  • Show HN: TypeSchema – A JSON specification to describe data models
    I once read a paper about Apache/Meta Thrift [1,2]. It allows you to define data types/interfaces in a definition file and generate code for many programming languages. It was specifically designed for RPCs and microservices. [1]: https://thrift.apache.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Delving Deeper: Enriching Microservices with Golang with CloudWeGo
    While gRPC and Apache Thrift have served the microservice architecture well, CloudWeGo's advanced features and performance metrics set it apart as a promising open source solution for the future. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Reddit System Design/Architecture
    Services in general communicate via Thrift (and in some cases HTTP). Source: about 2 years ago
  • Universal type language!
    Protocol Buffers is the most popular one, but there are many others such as Apache Thrift and my own Typical. Source: over 2 years ago
  • You worked on it? Why is it slow then?
    RPC is not strictly OO, but you can think of RPC calls like method calls. In general it will reflect your interface design and doesn't have to be top-down, although a good project usually will look that way. A good contrast to REST where you use POST/PUT/GET/DELETE pattern on resources where as a procedure call could be a lot more flexible and potentially lighter weight. Think of it like defining methods in code... Source: over 2 years ago
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RegExr mentions (368)

  • Learning Perl - Regular Expressions
    Use Online Tools: There are many online regex testers and visualizers that can help you see how your patterns match against sample text. These tools often provide explanations for each part of the regex. I personally use https://regexr.com/. - Source: dev.to / 4 days ago
  • The importance of the environment in Regex pattern matching
    However - here it becomes weird - when testing the original regex rule (the first one, without the \u00A0 part) on the same string in an interactive visualiser (https://regexr.com/ for instance), there is a match:. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Ask HN: How did you learn Regex?
    Learned regex in the 90's from the Perl documentation, or possibly one of the oreilly perl references. That was a time where printed language references were more convenient than searching the internet. Perl still includes a shell component for accessing it's documentation, that was invaluable in those ancient times. Perl's regex documentation is rather fantastic. `perldoc perlre` from your terminal. Or... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Ask HN: How did you learn Regex?
    I read a lot on https://www.regular-expressions.info and experimented on https://rubular.com since I was also learning Ruby at the time. https://regexr.com is another good tool that breaks down your regex and matches. One of the things I remember being difficult at the beginning was the subtle differences between implementations, like `^` meaning "beginning of line" in Ruby (and others) but meaning "beginning of... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Ask HN: How did you learn Regex?
    Mostly building things that needed complex RegEx, and debugging my regular expressions with https://regexr.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Thrift and RegExr, you can also consider the following products

Docker Hub - Docker Hub is a cloud-based registry service

regular expressions 101 - Extensive regex tester and debugger with highlighting for PHP, PCRE, Python and JavaScript.

Eureka - Eureka is a contact center and enterprise performance through speech analytics that immediately reveals insights from automated analysis of communications including calls, chat, email, texts, social media, surveys and more.

rubular - A ruby based regular expression editor

Traefik - Load Balancer / Reverse Proxy

Expresso - The award-winning Expresso editor is equally suitable as a teaching tool for the beginning user of regular expressions or as a full-featured development environment for the experienced programmer with an extensive knowledge of regular expressions.