Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

clang VS JSDoc

Compare clang VS JSDoc and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

clang logo clang

C, C++, Objective C and Objective C++ front-end for the LLVM compiler.

JSDoc logo JSDoc

An API documentation generator for JavaScript.
  • clang Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-01
  • JSDoc Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-09-17

clang features and specs

  • High Performance
    Clang is known for its fast compilation time and efficient use of memory, which makes it ideal for large projects that require frequent builds.
  • Modular Design
    The modular design of Clang allows developers to easily integrate it with other tools and projects. This flexibility is particularly beneficial for custom compilers and IDEs.
  • Expressive Diagnostics
    Clang provides highly detailed and easy-to-understand error and warning messages, which help developers quickly identify and fix coding issues.
  • LLVM Infrastructure
    Being a part of the LLVM project, Clang benefits from a robust and active community. It gets frequent updates and improvements, keeping it at the forefront of compiler technology.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Clang supports multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. This makes it a versatile choice for cross-platform development projects.

Possible disadvantages of clang

  • Limited Legacy Support
    Clang may not support some older or obscure language extensions that other compilers, like GCC, might handle. This can be an issue when working with legacy codebases.
  • Evolving Ecosystem
    As part of a rapidly evolving ecosystem, Clang can introduce breaking changes or deprecations that require developers to frequently update their code.
  • Resource Intensive
    Although Clang is efficient, the compilation of very large codebases might require significant system resources, potentially straining less powerful systems.
  • Less Mature in Certain Areas
    Compared to GCC, Clang can be less mature in handling certain language features or optimizations, especially in newer or less common use cases.

JSDoc features and specs

  • Improved Documentation
    JSDoc generates detailed HTML documentation from comments, which improves the maintainability and readability of the codebase.
  • Enhanced Code Understanding
    By using JSDoc, other developers can easily understand the purpose and usage of functions, parameters, classes, etc.
  • Autocomplete and Type Checking
    When integrated with editors like Visual Studio Code, JSDoc comments can provide better autocomplete suggestions and can be used for TypeScript-like type checking.
  • Consistency
    JSDoc enforces consistent documentation across the codebase, ensuring that all parts of the code are equally documented.
  • Easy to Use
    It is relatively straightforward to incorporate JSDoc comments into existing JavaScript code with minimal effort.
  • Supports Multiple Formats
    JSDoc supports various formats and tags, making it versatile for different documentation needs.

Possible disadvantages of JSDoc

  • Learning Curve
    New users may need some time to fully understand and utilize all the features and tags available in JSDoc.
  • Manual Effort
    Writing JSDoc comments requires a manual effort from developers, which can be time-consuming especially for large codebases.
  • Not Enforced
    Without proper enforcement, developers might omit JSDoc comments, leading to inconsistent documentation.
  • Overhead
    Too many comments can make the codebase cluttered and harder to navigate in some cases.
  • Limited to JavaScript
    JSDoc is primarily designed for JavaScript, which can be limiting if the project includes multiple languages.

Analysis of JSDoc

Overall verdict

  • Overall, JSDoc is a valuable tool for JavaScript developers looking for an effective way to document their code. It is widely regarded as good due to its ease of use, comprehensive feature set, and ability to produce well-structured documentation. The automatic generation of documentation from source code comments can significantly enhance the quality and accessibility of technical documentation, making it a recommended choice for many developers.

Why this product is good

  • JSDoc is a documentation generator for JavaScript, which is highly beneficial for developers as it allows them to create detailed and structured documentation directly from their code comments. This helps in understanding and maintaining codebases, particularly in large projects, by providing clear API documentation that is both easy to read and navigate. JSDoc supports a wide range of tags to cover different aspects of the code documentation, including function descriptions, parameter types, return values, and more. Moreover, it integrates well with other tools and workflows, improving documentation consistency and developer efficiency.

Recommended for

  • JavaScript developers who want to improve their code documentation.
  • Teams working on large or complex JavaScript projects needing clear and consistent API documentation.
  • Developers who prefer automating the documentation process directly from code comments.
  • Projects that require integration with other documentation or build tools.

clang videos

Use Clang on Windows, Linux, and macOS

More videos:

  • Review - The Clang Swordsman
  • Review - CLANG AND BANG: BI'S AND TRI'S FOR DAYS!

JSDoc videos

ep1 - Documenting your javascript code like a pro, setting up JSdoc

More videos:

  • Review - How JSDoc Support was Added to TypeScript pt1 - TypeScript PR Reviews
  • Review - How JSDoc Support was Added to TypeScript pt2 - TypeScript PR Reviews

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to clang and JSDoc)
IDE
100 100%
0% 0
Documentation
0 0%
100% 100
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
Documentation As A Service & Tools

User comments

Share your experience with using clang and JSDoc. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare clang and JSDoc

clang Reviews

We have no reviews of clang yet.
Be the first one to post

JSDoc Reviews

20 Best Web Project Documentation Tools
It is to Sass what JSDoc is to JavaScript: a documentation system to build pretty and powerful docs in the blink of an eye.
Source: bashooka.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, JSDoc should be more popular than clang. It has been mentiond 54 times since March 2021. 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.

clang mentions (13)

  • dotnet cross-platform interop with C via Environment.ProcessId system call
    I want to compile C program for various operating systems from one machine, that's why on macOS M1 I use zig drop-in replacement compiler (can be used on Linux, Windows too) for cross-platform compilation. There are also clang, gcc (usually pre-installed on macOS and Linux). For Windows there are Visual Studio installer or mingw (which installs gcc). - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • S2S Compilers: Understanding Switch Case Statements
    If you are turning your source code into languages such as C or C++, it is required to have great understanding and knowledge of C/C++. Since these languages also have compilers be it GNU Compiler Collection or Clang, we have to do a lot of digging and researching around their features and functionalities. There is a lot of benefit in that once the target codebase grows and developers start reusing the target... - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Ready to miss a semi colon and spend the next hour stressing over what went wrong?
    Clang is an LLVM based C compiler that "allows better diagnostics, better integration with IDEs, a license that is compatible with commercial products, and a nimble compiler that is easy to develop and maintain," compared to other options. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Alternatives of MinGW for MacOS
    VS Code is not an IDE. It's simply an editor without any built-in compiler tools. So you MUST use "other compiler" (and bintools) anyway. As I said, Apple's official C/C++ compiler is LLVM-Clang, which offers even better optimization in some tasks. Source: almost 3 years ago
  • What is the point of free and open source software?
    One illustration of this came in 2015 when Stallman decided he Would rather prevent the Gnu Compiler Collection from supporting modern IDE features like symbol completion, than allow GCC front ends to be paired with free-but-not-copyleft backends like LLVM and Clang: "Since LLVM and Clang are not copylefted, they invite nonfree extensions. They are a gaping hole in the defensive wall around our city." Allowing... - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago
View more

JSDoc mentions (54)

  • Documenting Web Components With Storybook
    One of the best tools available in Web Component development is the Custom Elements Manifest. It's a JSON representation of all your available components, covering all the attributes, methods, slots and events they support, powered by your JSDoc comments and TypeScript types. You can customize the manifest generation through plugins to support custom JSDoc comments, allowing you to power more pieces of your... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Just Say No to JavaScript
    I've seen several ways of annotating Javascript that IDEs seem to understand. They usually involve using comments before fields, classes, or functions. The most compliant one seems to be using [JSDoc](https://jsdoc.app/). JSDoc is mostly intended for generating documentation. However, the Typescript compiler can validate types (and can even interoperate with Typescript definitions), if you configure it as such. In... - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • TypeScript (and JSDoc) vs JavaScript
    If you choose to use JSDoc instead of TypeScript, this only con that TypeScript has is gone, but a new one appears: JSDoc doesnt work very well with more complex types if you dont use classes to represent them. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • How to document your JavaScript package
    Thanks to JSDoc it's easy to write documentation that is coupled with your code and can be consumed by users in a variety of formats. When combined with a modern publishing flow like JSR, you can easily create comprehensive documentation for your package that not only fits within your workflow, but also integrates directly in the tools your users consume your package with. This blog post aims to cover best... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Deep Dive: Google Apps Script - Testing APIs and Automating Sheets
    Note: For simplicity, I will omit the JavaScript documentation, but for a production grade code you may want to add the documentation (see jsdoc.app website for more). - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing clang and JSDoc, you can also consider the following products

GNU Compiler Collection - The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is a compiler system produced by the GNU Project supporting...

JSOLint - Format, verify, and lint JSON effortlessly with our powerful Validator Tool. Generate pretty JSON and validate online for free. Simplify your JSON tasks

LLVM - LLVM is a compiler infrastructure designed for compile-time, link-time, run-time, and...

Doxygen - Generate documentation from source code

PyCharm - Python & Django IDE with intelligent code completion, on-the-fly error checking, quick-fixes, and much more...

DocFX - A documentation generation tool for API reference and Markdown files!