Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

ExplainDev VS ast-grep

Compare ExplainDev VS ast-grep and see what are their differences

ExplainDev logo ExplainDev

Meet the AI-powered browser extension that explains code using plain language.

ast-grep logo ast-grep

⚡A polyglot tool for code searching, linting, rewriting!
  • ExplainDev Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-09
  • ast-grep Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-10

ExplainDev features and specs

  • Improved Code Understanding
    ExplainDev provides detailed explanations of code snippets, helping users understand how a specific piece of code works.
  • Facilitates Learning
    The tool is beneficial for new developers and students as it can accelerate the learning process by breaking down complex code into simpler terms.
  • Increased Productivity
    By offering quick insights into code, ExplainDev can save time for developers who need to work with unfamiliar codebases.
  • Integration with Development Tools
    ExplainDev can integrate with popular development environments, allowing users to access its features without leaving their coding platforms.

Possible disadvantages of ExplainDev

  • Dependency on Service
    Relying on ExplainDev for code understanding can lead to over-dependence, potentially hindering the development of independent problem-solving skills.
  • Accuracy Limitations
    The explanations provided may not always be accurate or fully comprehensive, especially for complex or niche code snippets.
  • Data Privacy Concerns
    Using an online tool to analyze code might raise concerns about the privacy and security of the code being processed.
  • Limited Programming Language Support
    The tool may not support all programming languages or frameworks, limiting its usefulness for developers working outside of its supported technologies.

ast-grep features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ExplainDev and ast-grep)
Developer Tools
71 71%
29% 29
Productivity
62 62%
38% 38
AI
100 100%
0% 0
Hiring And Recruitment
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, ast-grep should be more popular than ExplainDev. It has been mentiond 17 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.

ExplainDev mentions (4)

  • Buildling ReReview AI - chatbot to help find the best AI tools for any task or team (with GPT-4)
    Thanks for the note. Generally best to just describe the task (need to improve the system prompt to always only return tools). Here's the response I got: https://imgur.com/a/NyHBCe2 (https://programming-helper.com/ , https://explain.dev/ , https://tldrdev.ai/ , https://code-mentor.ai/) In addition to the categorization and summary (driven by GPT-4), it takes into account performance metrics of the tool (visits,... Source: about 2 years ago
  • Why don't there seem to be any courses based around the idea of maintaining and extending legacy software?
    Agree with so many of the comments here. I believe the way to equip folks to be productive with legacy code is build tools that replicate the goodness of an experienced engineer while on the job. Supplement the help available and ensure the person onboarding is benefitting from the questions that were asked by new folks before them. I started building the tool here: explain.dev While courses could help you feel... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Make image tutorials in no time with code explanations from AI.
    The technology behind the images is ExplainDev, an AI powered programmer's assistant. You can think of it as an expert that's always available to answer your technical questions and explain code. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Explanation of a queue data structure in JavaScript
    I used explain.dev for code explanations and snappify.io for the visuals :). Source: about 3 years ago

ast-grep mentions (17)

  • Developer Philosophy
    One useful tool beyond regular grep for counting the number of times a pattern appears is ast-grep [1], which allows for more sophisticated rules. [1] https://ast-grep.github.io/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Using ast-grep with a vue project
    The amazing ast-grep tool does not support vue and scss by default but can be configured to do so. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Mergiraf: a syntax-aware merge driver for Git
    Hi! ast-grep[1] author here. It is a tree-sitter based syntax tool to search tool. I wonder how you transition from tree-sitter to other builtin parsers? Tree-sitter gave a unified interface to all languages. Using language native parsers will require significant work for various FFI if I am not wrong. [1]: https://ast-grep.github.io/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Refactoring Python with Tree-sitter and Jedi
    I’ve been looking at codemod tools recently, just as a way to extend my editing toolbox. I came across https://ast-grep.github.io/, which looks like it might address part of this problem. My initial test case was to locate all calls to a method where a specific argument was ‘true’, and it handled that well - that’s the kind of thing an IDE seems to struggle with. I’m not yet sure whether it could handle renaming a... - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Greppability is an underrated code metric
    Astgrep is a very useful tool. https://ast-grep.github.io/ It's not as easy to use as grep but I think one can script it to be nearly so. It has huge power but without learning it all one can do searches that grep finds difficult. e.g. Finding all the locations where a method is called and showing the parameters even if they are on multiple lines. Ultragrep - I don't love this quite as much but it does have a way... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing ExplainDev and ast-grep, you can also consider the following products

EssenceAI - Simplify Code Understanding using the power of GPT-4

bloop - Code-search engine for developers

Easyvoice - Make stunning voice apps with no-code development platform

Simplify Jobs - Simplify is a common application for jobs & internships. Autofill job applications anywhere on the web, get notified when new jobs open, & seamlessly track your applications.

AI Code Mentor - Virtual Instructor that utilizes AI to help you learn code

Productivity Power Tools - Extension for Visual Studio - A set of extensions to Visual Studio 2012 Professional (and above) which improves developer productivity.