According to the British "Financial Times" reported that private equity firms KKR and Goldman Sachs jointly raised $ 360 million for the acquisition of low-source development platform OutSystems of "substantial" minority stake, the transaction valuation of OutSystems more than $ 1 billion. What began in recent years, low-code development blowout exactly? Some people say that low code development can greatly enhance the efficiency of developers to help them out of the mire 996; It was also said low will allow software developers to develop code for this career completely dead, low code development whether to give developers what kind of changes ? Hopefully this article can help you answer these two questions.
What "Low code development" Yes?
"Low code development" refers to a rapid design and development of software systems used, and the minimum amount of hand-coding methods, it can help you work faster and more reliably delivering value. By visual designer to drag and drop to quickly build an application, you can skip the infrastructure and may cause you to fall into the plight of the technical details, go directly to work closely related to the business needs.
(Cell type using a low code development platform visual designer build data billboards)
"Low code development" in some respects is similar to automobile manufacturers. Most of the past need to manually complete the operation, it is now automated. Although automated process used in the production line of the automobile complex configuration powerless, but they do speed up the process of assembly and delivery. "Low code development" of the software industry, the role of assembly lines for the automotive industry is similar. Both can previously difficult and time-consuming manual task automation, so that people can free hand to do more important things.
(Car automated production lines, images from the network)
So, "what is the low code development," this issue, there is a standard answer? not at all. So, in the end what is "low source development" mean?
Well, it's time to get rid of analogies, bluntly replied, "What is the low code development?" This problem. In the software world, we often rely on libraries, API, and third-party infrastructure, thus providing unique value to achieve would not otherwise exist for the user. However, even if to do so, we will still fall into some kind of trouble. Matthew Revell believes that "low-code development," the words, represents can help developers to use drag and drop operation, intuitive application to create a series of development tools (ie, low source development platform) and methods (ie low Code development program). Use low-source development platform, developers do not need to write thousands of lines of complex code and syntax, you can build complete applications with innovative user interface, integration capabilities, data and logic quickly and intuitively.
The following is a typical low-code development platform features:
The visual designer : the UI includes a visualization definition, workflow and data model designer, and when necessary to support handwritten code.
Various services or backend connectors : a data structure capable of automatically processing, storage and retrieval. Some low-platform code development, such as cell type which is integrated into the visual designer.
Application Lifecycle Manager : for testing, staging, build, debug, deploy and maintain the application of automated tools.
In addition to these basic elements have no two low code means are identical. Some tools are very limited role, more akin to the visual database front-end, such as the 1990s FoxPro. Some tools only focus on niche business needs, such as customer records management. There are even some special tools except that the term low-described code, but the actual application development has little to do.
Other tools, such as cell type, can provide you create advanced, everything you need for cross-platform enterprise Web and mobile end-side applications.
(Lattice type low-source development platform)
With "low source development platform" for development is a kind of feeling?
Basically, the use of low code to build the software and build software in other ways no different. Unless you do all of the handwriting from the beginning own machine code - but not counted assembly language - then you have adopted shortcuts built on the work of others.
Use low-code development, you can avoid unnecessary work. You do not need to manually write another user and rights management module, without having to deal with the characteristics of the latest programming framework, there is no need to write on ten test method before writing the first line of application code, but you can create new direct and valuable thing. After all, when those problems have been solved and the inherent mode is fully accepted, you then why should repeat it again?
Use of a common framework for developing Web applications, or to build a low-source development platform? Let's compare the difference between the two.
Traditional application development process - whether you are using .NET MVC, Spring Boot, or Ruby on Rails, that you (and your team) will need roughly the same the following steps:
- Clear demand.
- Planning framework.
- Select a back-end framework, libraries, data storage and third-party API (if needed).
- Select a front-end frame, and do not want to abandon it before the completion of the development.
- Select the deployment stack, set the CI continuous integration, develop an implementation plan.
- Creating wireframes and prototypes, and confirm with the customer.
- In selecting a good JavaScript UI framework written in the manual.
- Write a bunch of unit tests is temporarily unable to pass.
- Definition model and connect them to the data store.
- Define and write business logic code.
- It will provide or create a front end view of receiving necessary data from the front end JSON.
- Implement your workflow and UI in selecting a good front-end framework.
- The use of third-party publisher interface to integrate third-party API, or, if lucky, those who support the use of the language of your choice library.
- Repeat the test until the test passes.
- Test its safety, performance, quality and user acceptance.
- Deployment, patching, monitoring, updating the application until the end of its life cycle.
Low code development - be constructed using low-platform code development, the following steps:
- Clear demand.
- Select a third-party API, if required.
- Rendering application in the visual workflow designer, user interface and data models, and confirmed with the customer.
- Connect to your API, usually directly using a variety of plug-ins to achieve.
- If necessary, add some handwritten code at the front end, from third-party API some SQL query or view defined or encoded docking some relatively small minority, including but not limited to hardware drivers.
- User acceptance testing.
- Deployed to the production environment, and then click to push updates.
Just sixteen seven steps to replace the previous.
Type low grid code development platform product manager Hu Yao said he was very understanding developers have to spend a lot of time feeling in handwriting Web and mobile end-side application code in this area. Developers are not necessary to follow the same path at the start of each project. "Low-source development platform" that allows developers to use off-the-battle-tested basic components to create applications. In this way, developers can focus shifted to create more value to the world above.
With "low source development platform" is to allow developers to do more
Basically, the low code development is a way developers can do more work. Use low-code development, you can spend more time creating and building, and reduce the time repetitive work. Of course, learning the latest, trendy JavaScript frameworks, or use the tip of NoSQL data store is also very interesting, but when you are still not familiar to spend time debugging code, competitors will ease the delivery of the project in front of customers and gain customer recognition.
"Low Code" is not to reduce the value of developers. On the contrary, "Low code for" enabling development teams to generate more value faster, can also strengthen the developers to understand how to create and maintain high-quality Web and mobile end-side applications.
Now, you can try the free type low-grid source development platform to open their low code development trip. With simple tutorial, with far less time than it takes for your past, you can build a beautiful, easy to use cross-platform Web and mobile end-side applications. From then on, you can help the next question "What is the code development is the low?" People.