What you need to know about low code

The concept of low code can be traced back to the 1980s, when IBM's Rapid Application Development Tool (RAD) was given a new name - low code. From this, the concept of low code was first introduced to the public. However, in the past 40 years, low-code development has gone through two stages:

The first stage is from 1980 to 2015. During this stage, the low-code application platform market developed relatively slowly, and there were very few platforms with outstanding performance. However, today's leading products in the low-code field, such as Outsystem, Zoho Creator, Mendix, etc., were all born during this period, laying the foundation for future low-code development.

The second stage is from 2015 to 2018, when the low-code market begins to heat up. In 2015, giants such as AWS, Google, Microsoft and Oracle also began to enter the low-code field. In 2018, Siemens announced the acquisition of Mendix, a leader in low-code application development, for 600 million euros. OutSystems, a low-code platform for rapid application development, received an investment of 360 million U.S. dollars. The low-code platform market began to boom.

In the past two years, the participation of a large number of IT giants and capital has attracted more and more people to pay attention to low code. The low-code development process usually includes steps such as requirements analysis, data modeling, interface design, business logic writing, integration testing, deployment and maintenance. Low-code development can greatly shorten the application development cycle and reduce development costs. It can also improve the flexibility and scalability of development and is suitable for application development of various types and sizes. When choosing a low-code platform, you need to consider factors such as the platform's scalability, flexibility, security, and performance, as well as whether the platform supports the programming languages ​​and frameworks you use.

1. What is low code?

Low-Code is a software development approach that enables developers to build and deploy applications more quickly by minimizing the need for manual coding. Low-code platforms provide a set of visual tools and components that allow developers to create applications through drag-and-drop, configuration, and setting properties, thereby reducing the effort of writing large amounts of code from scratch. The main goal of low-code platforms is to reduce the technical complexity required to develop applications, thereby speeding up the development cycle and reducing development costs. This approach is suitable for projects that require rapid response to business needs, building prototypes, developing internal tools, or streamlining business processes.

2. Advantages and Disadvantages of Low Code

In addition to the characteristics of rapid development, simplicity and ease of use, scalability, easy maintenance and wide application range, the low-code development platform also has some other characteristics:

1. Reduce development costs: Low-code development platforms can reduce the workload of developers manually writing code, thereby reducing development costs.
2. Improve development efficiency: The low-code development platform can quickly build applications, and can easily iterate and update, thereby improving development efficiency.
3. Enhanced maintainability: The code generated by low-code development platforms is usually standardized and easy to maintain and upgrade, thereby reducing maintenance costs.
4. Cross-platform: Low-code development platforms usually support multiple platforms, such as Web, mobile, desktop, etc., which can meet the needs of different application scenarios.
5. Integration capabilities: Low-code development platforms usually have strong integration capabilities and can be easily integrated with other systems to speed up the application development process.
6. Strong adaptability: Low-code development platforms usually have strong adaptability and can adapt to different business needs and scenarios, thereby accelerating business innovation.

The low-code development platform is an efficient, flexible, and scalable application development method that is suitable for various types of application development, including web applications, mobile applications, enterprise applications, etc.

3. Do you think low-code will replace traditional programming?

I think low-code will not replace traditional programming, but a complementary relationship. Low-code is a new approach to software development that simplifies the application development process through the use of visual development interfaces and pre-built components. In contrast, traditional programming methods usually require developers to manually write a large amount of code, which has higher technical requirements. Low-code platforms can reduce the workload of developers manually writing code and improve development efficiency. They can also reduce development costs and development cycles.

Low-code platforms and traditional programming methods are not completely independent, they can complement each other. Low-code platforms are usually developed based on traditional programming languages ​​and frameworks, and can also integrate traditional programming methods to achieve more flexible and customized application development. In addition, low-code platforms usually provide syntax and APIs similar to traditional programming methods, making it easier for developers to use low-code platforms for application development.

In short, low-code platforms and traditional programming methods are not mutually exclusive, but can complement each other. Low-code platforms can simplify the application development process and improve development efficiency, while traditional programming methods can provide more flexible and customized application development.

Four: How to get started with low code?

The low-code development process usually includes the following steps:

1. Requirements analysis: Clarify the functions and requirements of the application and determine the development goals and scope.
2. Data modeling: Design databases and data models, determine data structures and relationships.
3. Interface design: Design user interface and interaction methods, determine page layout and functional components.
4. Business logic writing: Write business logic code to implement the core functions of the application.
5. Integration testing: Conduct integration testing on the application to test the integration effect and stability between various components.
6. Deployment and Maintenance: Deploy the application into production and maintain and update it regularly.

Low-code development can greatly shorten the application development cycle and reduce development costs. It can also improve the flexibility and scalability of development and is suitable for application development of various types and sizes. When choosing a low-code platform, you need to consider factors such as the platform's scalability, flexibility, security, and performance, as well as whether the platform supports the programming languages ​​and frameworks you use.