[Low Code] Thoughts on the Future Development Direction of Low Code

 

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1 Basic introduction 

1.1 What is low code

Low-code development is an approach to software development that allows developers to quickly build applications using a graphical interface and a small amount of code. Developers can use predefined components and modules to create applications without extensive custom coding. This makes the development process faster and more efficient, as developers can focus on business logic rather than low-level technical details.

1.2 Low-code platform components

Low-code development platforms typically include the following components:

1. Visual Application Builder: This is a graphical interface tool for creating applications that can be built by dragging and dropping components and modules. These components and modules can include forms, charts, maps, data tables, and more.

2. Integrated Development Environment (IDE): Low-code development platforms typically provide an IDE for writing custom code and scripts. These scripts can be used to process business logic, implement complex business rules, and integrate third-party applications and services.

3. Deployment and management tools: Low-code development platforms typically include deployment and management tools for deploying, monitoring and managing applications to the cloud or on-premises servers.

1.3 Advantages

The advantages of low-code development include:

1. Faster development: As low-code development platforms provide pre-defined components and modules, developers can build applications faster, thereby shortening the development cycle.

2. Less coding: The low-code development platform enables developers to use a small amount of code to implement complex business logic, thereby reducing the coding workload.

3. Fewer skills required: Because low-code development platforms use visual build tools and a small amount of custom code, they don't require developers to have deep technical skills.

4. Better maintainability: Since low-code development platforms use predefined components and modules, applications are easier to maintain and update.

5. Greater flexibility: Low-code development platforms can easily extend and integrate third-party services and applications.

1.4 Disadvantages

Disadvantages of low-code development include:

1. Potential limitations: Because low-code development platforms use predefined components and modules, there may be certain limitations that prevent certain business needs from being met.

2. Potential lack of customization: As most of the applications are built using predefined components and modules, there can be a lack of personalization and customization.

3. May require higher costs: Low-code development platforms may require certain costs, including license fees, training costs, and maintenance costs.

1.5 Summary

Overall, low-code development is a fast, efficient, and flexible approach to software development that can help businesses build and deploy applications faster, thereby increasing business efficiency and productivity.

2 Development status 

How far has low-code progressed?

The best possible: no code rate over 95% + generate full-stack code (readable and exportable) + complete integration of cloud computing

2.1 Present situation introduction 

Some current developments in the field of code platforms:

1. The market scale continues to expand: It is estimated that by 2023, the global low-code development platform market will reach more than 450 million US dollars, showing a trend of rapid growth. This is mainly driven by the digital transformation needs of enterprises and the continuous innovation of low-code development platform technology.

2. Continuous innovation in low-code platform technology: Continuous innovation in low-code platform technology, such as the application of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and containerization, can help developers build applications faster and improve application performance and maintainability sex.

3. Increasing enterprise demand for low-code platforms: As the digital transformation of enterprises accelerates, enterprises' demand for low-code platforms continues to increase. Enterprises need to quickly build and deploy applications to adapt to rapidly changing market demands.

4. The application scenarios of low-code platforms continue to expand: The application scenarios of low-code platforms continue to expand, not only for building enterprise-level applications, but also for building mobile applications, Internet of Things applications, and cloud-native applications.

5. Competition among low-code platform manufacturers is fierce: As the low-code platform market continues to expand, the competition among low-code platform manufacturers is also becoming more and more intense. Low-code platform vendors are constantly introducing new features and services to meet customer needs. 

2.1 How to analyze different low-code platforms

Analysis of a low-code platform can be done from the following aspects:

• The platform's website and how the platform was generated
• its ability to generate source code
• Visual logical arrangement

1 The website of the platform and how the platform was generated

See if the website and platform of its low-code platform are generated through its own low-code/no-code platform

In this regard, iVX should be a role model (if you don’t use it yourself, how can others dare to use it?)

Including various systems within the company (finance, OA, project/task management, performance, college/course/examination/question bank, live broadcast, customer service/work order, attendance, documents, platform transactions...),

All are developed by iVX IDE itself. In this regard, all other low-code platforms are incomparable.

A few issues are stated:

• The functions of iVX are powerful and complete, including all parts of front-end, back-end and database;
• The application developed by iVX is stable enough (use the drug clinically on yourself);
• It reflects that iVX has sufficient confidence in its own products.

2 Its ability to generate source code

"Generate source code" here does not mean that the entire system has been adjusted and changed due to configuration and functions. Instead, the source code that can be exported is actually generated. This code can be compiled, and the function and performance of this low-code should be basically equivalent to that of a "programming language".

At present, almost all low-code platforms, including the top foreign "power platforms" Mendix Outsystems... cannot export the source code. Simply put, they can only be used in the internal environment of the platform, or "locked".

These are all derived from the "logic of enterprise products". All low-code platforms can be understood as "internal development platforms" customized for enterprises. They originally hoped that enterprises could "use it all the time", so they would not have the motivation to do code. For things that are exported, over time, the entire system can only be used within the enterprise, and it is "farther and farther away" from what the "programming language" has to do.

iVX Documentation Center

​www.ivx.cn/docsMobile?page=18865ab3968

​

In this field, iVX is also at the forefront. It can be regarded as a product directly used by programmers, a fast code generator/paradigm.

3 Visual logical arrangement

Most of the logic layout now refers to the "flowchart" layout mode of "Mendix" "Outsystems". In fact, this itself has some problems (complex logic is difficult to express, such as loops, etc.), so there is "low code "This concept is not that they don't want to kill the code, but the flaw of this logical expression, which leads to the need for code treatment to express complex logic.

This can be regarded as another innovation of iVX, and there is only one company in the world that expresses this logic (patented).

4 Future Development Direction

It is AI programming, which is the most important "ultimate trick". If the low-code has already abstracted the components and the logical expression is "Turing complete", the rest is to automatically generate a complete application, not that kind of "code fragment", no Improve the code and find bugs of various GPTs, but directly generate complete applications. The reason for this possibility is mainly due to the secondary abstraction of components and logic by "low code". The application expression is simplified and unified, which reduces the number of "tokens" and training difficulty by several orders of magnitude. In this way, iVX is trying hard to complete the complete generation of application development within 5000 tokens.

3 iVX platform introduction

 iVX platform: what iVX does is "development mode", drag and drop to generate full-stack code;

What other low-code platforms do is "runtime", which configures and generates applications.

To put it simply: iVX is a new code "generation" model. Since the code for the front-end (react/vue), background (Java/node) and database is directly generated, it is technically "reversible" and there are almost no what risk. If you choose the "runtime" platform, you are basically "locked" to this platform. 

3.1 Customer groups

Although many companies choose to use the iVX system for development and code generation, iVX is not specifically tailored for "enterprises", and it can also be said that iVX is not dedicated to "enterprise services".

iVX is oriented to "developers", and has both "programming language" and "IDE" attributes. For this reason, iVX adopts a completely free model in the cloud, including the generation and export of application codes. Only cloud computing charges).

The vast majority of "low-code platforms" are for "enterprise services", installing systems within enterprises, and constantly upgrading and maintaining this system, and their charging models are also enterprise-oriented.

3.2 "Turing complete" programming system

iVX has the "Turing complete" logical expression ability (the event panel method, there is a new book about this "iVX: Universal Codeless Programming"), so in theory, any complex logic expression can be completed without a single line of code; plus The relatively complete "layered component" system on the Internet makes it more suitable for expressing various complex business and data processing logic.

Most of the current low-code platforms are called "low-code" because some code logic cannot be expressed, and the business must be expressed by means of code.

Here it seems embarrassing "Low code still needs code? --> Write code or need programmer? --> Low code platform still need programmer to write code? --> Programmer also needs to learn low code platform and its architecture Write code again? And there are quite a lot of restrictions? --> Is it really cost-effective? Can business people really use it directly?" These are all questions.

3.4 Complete official documents

A complete document center, from introduction to actual combat to deployment, has a complete set of processes

 

3.5 App store

There are many application templates in the application store, you can choose according to your needs

 

3.6 Component Market

Rich component market

 

 

3.7 The first hardware product - iVX programming box

 

1 Why does iVX make hardware?

Obviously iVX is developed as a programming system and is a typical software system. Why did it launch hardware products? Isn't this the opposite? In fact, the iVX programming box just integrates "core capabilities into a hardware product, and provides it to enterprises and developers through the most cost-effective service".

Therefore, the hardware is only the carrier of the iVX core system, and the service content and quality provided have not changed.

In addition, this kind of hardware provides software system service mode, which is also just combined with "iVX's own characteristics of its own products".

2. What are the characteristics of iVX itself?

 

Strictly speaking, "iVX visual programming platform" (code generation platform) is not a typical service platform "customized for enterprises", but a platform "served for developers", that is to say, its design goal is "for programs Server-based", similar to a new programming language (or "graphical development paradigm").

Its main manifestation is "to generate full-stack code", and it is as flexible as a programming language. This is different from "low-code platforms" that are "all designed for the enterprise".

All existing low-code platforms, including PowerPlatforms Mendix Outsystems, etc. and low-code open source platforms, all need to install a "runtime" system inside the enterprise, and then develop or configure this "runtime", that is, "development and run" is one.

This is very convenient for some simple configurations, but it also directly limits the flexibility of the entire system. Its biggest feature is that it cannot generate application code that can be exported and deployed, and "locks" the operating environment of these applications to some extent. . Simply put, "these applications can only be inside this runtime" and cannot be exported, which means that once a low-code platform is selected, it almost needs to be "used for life".

If the low-code platform has a unified standard protocol, the application of one platform can be exported to another platform, and this problem may be solved, but this is almost impossible.

Since iVX itself generates code, and it uses popular languages ​​JS/Java and popular frameworks React/vue, etc., it can achieve unity and compatibility with the current development system at the "code level".

Therefore, for iVX, it is possible to package the "productivity" of the code generation platform as a whole. (Other runtimes cannot do this, because runtimes are related to backend resources)

Therefore, there is the idea of ​​developing "iVX programming box".

3 Why is it made into the current hardware box (mini host)?

This is mainly to better adapt to the internal scenarios of the enterprise. It can be said that this box is specially built for small and medium-sized enterprises and development teams.

For enterprises, more "safe"

This box is completely inside the enterprise, which can support intranet development and ensure that all development data and test data are not exposed to the outside world. It should be a development model that "enterprises" can accept.

In addition, for code safety backup, a mechanical hard disk is now provided (backup is more secure) for automatic backup, and the online automatic backup mode can be added in the future to ensure the absolute security of the code.

For development, more "convenient"

This small box, only about 500 grams, is very convenient to carry. You can put it in the computer room, you can put it in the office, or you can follow the outsourcing team to develop on-site. Just imagine "an outsourcing team goes to the bank to develop internally, with a small box, plug and play, carry the development/debugging environment with you, and after the development is completed, directly deliver the code or deploy the system, what a cool outsourcing development experience."

"Lowest" cost, "highest efficiency"

The iVX programming box supports 50 developer accounts, which means that 50 developers can use it at the same time for multi-person collaborative development.

Moreover, it is a permanent authorization. On average, the lifetime authorization fee for a developer is only 300 yuan. Compared with iVX itself, which can improve the development efficiency of personnel by nearly 10 times, this is a very low price.

Moreover, this development structure itself is also very reasonable. The box itself uses an 8-core 16G configuration. Only the box computing resources will be used when previewing/compiling, and developers open the IDE through the browser for development (resources are consumed locally. ), therefore, there is no pressure to support 50 developers (a version to support more developers will be launched in the future).

The internal system of the box will install services such as mysql\redis by default, so the preview and debugging are also performed locally, which minimizes the use of cloud computing resources and further saves costs.

Due to the high-speed connection of the local area network, the stability of the network and higher development and debugging efficiency are guaranteed.

4 Services included with the programming box

 

(1) Developer Performance System

This system can count the "complexity" and "development time" output by each developer every 5 minutes; the complexity can be understood as the effective operation on the iVX IDE, and even mark "which ones are edited by oneself and which ones are Copy, which ones are modified, and which ones are in code form". It is very easy to quantify the working status and actual output of developers, which is of great help to R&D management.

(2) Demo system

Hundreds of demos are attached to facilitate learning and research. It also supports uploading and sharing within the enterprise.

(3) Doc file system

Rich Doc file system

(4) Free video teaching resources

A large number of free video teaching resources

 

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