GNU GLOBAL vs Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine
GNU GLOBAL
gnu.orgSemantic Designs Source Code Search Engine
semanticdesigns.comSide by side
| Figure | GNU GLOBAL | Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Code Search Tools | 8.1 (#7) | 8.3 (#4) |
| Operating systems | The project says GNU GLOBAL supports UNIX (POSIX) environments; its download page lists outside binary packages for Windows, Mac OS X, AIX, HP-UX, Fedora, Debian, FreeBSD, and NetBSD. | Semantic Designs lists Windows compatibility and says many tools can run on Linux through Wine; installed documentation specifies product-specific support. |
| Purpose | GNU GLOBAL is a source code tagging system for locating objects such as functions, macros, structs, and classes in source files. | The product interactively searches large source-code bases using language structure instead of only literal text matching. |
| Support | The project directs users seeking help to the [email protected] mailing list. | The maker provides [email protected] for inquiries and says custom scanners can be built for unusual languages, dialects, or structured text. |
Plans
Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine
- Evaluation versionFree
- Production licensePriced on request
In their own words
Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine
Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine searches and inspects indexed code using language structure, so queries can target constructs and complex statements as well as text patterns. It supports regular expressions and numeric values or ranges, and searches can disregard whitespace, line breaks, and comments. The maker says it can search millions of lines across tens of thousands of source files. Results include surrounding code and highlighted matches; users can open source text or launch an editor on the matching file. The engine also calculates Cyclomatic and Halstead complexity metrics and counts source, code, comment, and blank lines. Listed scanners include ABAP, C, C++, COBOL, Java, JavaScript, Python, PHP, SQL dialects, and XML, with beta scanners and custom options. Files are collected, scanned, and indexed on a recurring schedule. Results can be produced in XML for other graphical interfaces. The free evaluation covers 10,000 lines and requires registration; its license ends 90 days after download. Pricing for a production license is available on request.