Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Nova Code Editor VS Dash for macOS

Compare Nova Code Editor VS Dash for macOS and see what are their differences

Nova Code Editor logo Nova Code Editor

Nova Code Editor is software that is used for writing and editing codes.

Dash for macOS logo Dash for macOS

Dash is an API Documentation Browser and Code Snippet Manager. Dash searches offline documentation of 200+ APIs and stores snippets of code. You can also generate your own documentation sets.
  • Nova Code Editor Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-25
  • Dash for macOS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-22

Nova Code Editor features and specs

  • Sleek User Interface
    Nova offers a modern and visually appealing user interface that enhances the user experience.
  • Extensibility
    Nova supports a wide range of extensions that can significantly enhance its functionality.
  • Integrated Development Environment
    Includes built-in features like a terminal, debugger, and source control, providing a comprehensive toolset for developers.
  • Performance
    Designed to be fast and efficient, Nova offers a performance advantage over some other editors.
  • macOS Optimization
    Nova is optimized for macOS, offering excellent performance and integration with the operating system.

Possible disadvantages of Nova Code Editor

  • Platform Limitation
    Nova is only available for macOS, which limits its accessibility for developers using other operating systems.
  • Cost
    Nova is a paid software, which might not be ideal for developers or teams looking for a free solution.
  • Limited Community
    Compared to more established editors like VSCode, Nova has a smaller community, which can affect the availability of community support and extensions.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might face a learning curve due to its unique interface and feature set.
  • Extension Availability
    While extensible, the range of available extensions is not as vast as some other editors, potentially limiting customization.

Dash for macOS features and specs

  • Comprehensive Documentation Library
    Dash offers an extensive collection of API documentation sets for a wide range of programming languages and frameworks, making it a one-stop solution for developers who need quick access to reference materials.
  • Offline Access
    Dash allows users to download documentation for offline use, which is invaluable when working in environments without internet access or when attempting to reduce dependency on online resources.
  • Snippets Manager
    Dash includes a snippets manager that enables users to store and organize code snippets, which can significantly accelerate coding by reusing previously written code.
  • Integration with IDEs
    Dash integrates seamlessly with a variety of popular integrated development environments (IDEs) and code editors, like Xcode, Atom, Sublime Text, and more, streamlining the development workflow.
  • Custom Docsets
    Users can create and manage their own custom docsets, allowing for documentation customization specific to internal libraries or less common technologies.

Possible disadvantages of Dash for macOS

  • Paid Software
    Dash is a paid application, which may be a deterrent for some users who prefer free solutions or developers working with tight budgets.
  • macOS Only
    Dash is exclusive to macOS, which excludes users on other operating systems like Windows or Linux from utilizing its features.
  • Initial Set-Up Time
    Initial setup of Dash and downloading the necessary documentation sets can be time-consuming, especially for users who require multiple docsets.
  • Limited Cloud Syncing
    Dash doesn't offer robust cloud syncing options for documentation sets or snippet repositories, meaning users need to manually manage these files if working across multiple devices.

Analysis of Dash for macOS

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Dash for macOS is considered an excellent tool for developers seeking efficient and reliable access to offline documentation.

Why this product is good

  • Dash is highly regarded for its extensive offline documentation for numerous programming languages, frameworks, and APIs. Its speed and ease of use make it a valuable tool for developers who need quick access to documentation without an internet connection. The application allows users to create their own docsets and keep all documentation up to date effortlessly.

Recommended for

  • Software Developers
  • Programmers
  • Web Developers
  • Mobile App Developers
  • IT Professionals

Nova Code Editor videos

Everything You Need To Know: Coda 2.0

More videos:

  • Review - Beginner's Guide to Coda
  • Review - Coda vs Notion | 2019 Comparison

Dash for macOS videos

Dash for macOS

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Nova Code Editor and Dash for macOS)
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
52 52%
48% 48
IDE
100 100%
0% 0
Software Development
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Nova Code Editor and Dash for macOS. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Nova Code Editor and Dash for macOS

Nova Code Editor Reviews

Top 10 Notepad++ Alternatives for Mac in 2022
Here we have discussed more Notedpad++ Mac alternatives. We discussed that it is actually not available on Mac. However, we have discussed different alternatives you can choose with your computer. These include Atom, Sunset Code, Brackets, BBEdit, SlickEdit, Komodo IDE, Coderunner, and Coda, among others. All of these have their own limitations, capabilities, and features,...
Source: www.imymac.com
33+ Best No Code Tools you will love 😍
Coda is a platform that brings together all docs, spreadsheets, data + more into one easy place to store. It's great for growing companies wanting to allocate key information in one place for various team members and departments. What I really like about Coda is some of it's automation + formulas features for use with charts and tables. The UX of these features look great too.
25 No-Code Apps and Tools to help build your next Startup
Coda creates docs that combine all of your data and information in a centralized location. It is great to scale and knows how to integrate information as well as a dedicated data manager.
Source: www.ishir.com

Dash for macOS Reviews

  1. Stan
    · Founder at SaaSHub ·
    One of my favourite productivity tools as a software developer

    Once you get use to it, you won't be able to imagine your life without Dash. It will save you a bit of time every day. Many times.

    As a bonus you can use the "snippets" feature as a generic text-expander. That saves me tons of time when writing emails, too.

    p.s. aText is not exactly a direct competitor; however, I replaced it through the snippets feature of Dash.

    🏁 Competitors: aText

Best Text Expander apps for MacOS
Dash offers one of the most simplistic ways to start adding your own snippets. Dash 3 offers a set of language documentation at the side and this is something that will help you with rules and references. The tool allows you to create snippets by simply copying the phrase. Alternatively, you can also create custom snippets using keyboard commands. Dash allows users to setup...
Source: techwiser.com
What's a good alternative to Textexpander for Mac?
14DashView Productajimix4Written 4y agoIf you are a developer, Dash is your choice. It also does text-expanding and works great!🙏 helpful 3CommentsShare

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Dash for macOS should be more popular than Nova Code Editor. It has been mentiond 90 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.

Nova Code Editor mentions (40)

  • Apple Acquires Pixelmator
    Coda’s successor Nova[0] continues the tradition. [0]: https://nova.app/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Ask HN: Other than VS Code, are there any good IDEs for remote development?
    There there use to be a stronger distinction between Text Editors and IDE’s. Of course there is a wide spectrum from something like ‘nano’ to Microsoft’s Visual Studio (not VScode) On macOS, BBEdit has had SFTP since the late 1990s. BBEdit is probably closer to the Text Editor than IDE when compared to VSCode https://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/ Also on macOS, Panic’s recent Nova editor includes SFTP. Nova... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Bare Bones Software – BBEdit 15 is here
    Nova (https://nova.app) It's so close to being great. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Tell HN: My Favorite Tools
    A few apps that are a joy to use: https://ia.net/writer for writing. https://usecontrast.com/ for checking contrast. https://sipapp.io/ for picking colors. https://nova.app/ for editing code. https://cleanshot.com/ for screenshots. https://getpixelsnap.com/ for measuring elements on screen. https://netnewswire.com/ for reading things via RSS. https://panic.com/transmit/ for file transfers. https://usefathom.com/... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • A collection of useful Mac Apps
    Nova - Price: $99 (one-time purchase) Code editor for macOS that features a sleek UI, powerful features, and great performance. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

Dash for macOS mentions (90)

  • Man pages are great, man readers are the problem
    Https://kapeli.com/dash for MacOS supports man pages just like any of its many other documentation sources. Just prefix the search query with `man:`. Absolute hall of fame app IMO. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Why "alias" is my last resort for aliases
    Yeah, I do something kind of similar, using Dash [1] snippets which expand to full commands. Since I'm almost always on my mac, it means they're available in every shell, including remote shells, and in other situations like on Slack or writing documentation. I mostly use § as a prefix so I don't type them accidentally (although my git shortcuts are all `gg`-consonant which is not likely to appear in real typing).... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Patterns for Personal Web Sites (2003)
    Yeah, I keep thinking that CHM was the peak format for offline docs. Today we have Kiwix [0] and Dash/Zeal [1] – both amazing projects, but somehow they feel more complex, and the formats they use aren’t as ubiquitous. [0]: https://kiwix.org/en/ [1]: https://kapeli.com/dash for macOS, https://zealdocs.org/ for others. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Ask HN: What is one software product that boosted your productivity?
    Dash https://kapeli.com/dash Mac app. A native standardised search and browsing interface for the documentation of almost every programming language out there (and in some cases, their third-party libraries too). - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Rerun: Visualize Multimodal Data over Time
    Rerun is great. I wish they prioritize rerun_sdk build for iOS and/or Android - so that you can log remotely from mobile devices. Serializing and streaming images, depthmaps, sensors data in own code is a pain and rerun has done great work with that. A little worrying for me that rerun seems getting more complicated and verbose and API changes frequently. The whole vizualization code can clutter algorithm/code... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Nova Code Editor and Dash for macOS, you can also consider the following products

Sublime Text - Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, html and prose - any kind of text file. You'll love the slick user interface and extraordinary features. Fully customizable with macros, and syntax highlighting for most major languages.

Zeal - Zeal is an API Documentation Browser.

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

DevDocs - Open source API documentation browser with instant fuzzy search, offline mode, keyboard shortcuts, and more

Microsoft Visual Studio - Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft.

iTerm2 - A terminal emulator for macOS that does amazing things.