Low-code development is a software development method that has rapidly emerged in recent years, making it faster and easier to write applications. Some people say it is a delicious meal that makes the development process efficient and satisfying, but others question it as junk food and lacks customization and depth. Do you think low code is a delicious meal or junk food? Share it!
1. What is low code?
Low-code is translated from Low-Code, and Low-Code is derived from Low-Code Development Platform. As early as 2014, the well-known research institution Forrester proposed the concept of "Low-Code Development Platform (LCP)", which is defined as:
Platforms that enable rapid delivery of business applications with minimum hand-codling and minimal upfront Investment in setup, training. and deployment.
Literally translated it is:
These platforms enable rapid delivery of business applications with minimal hand coding and minimal upfront investment, including setup, training, and deployment.
The definition of low-code development platform on Wikipedia is:
A low-code development platform (LCDP) is software that provides an development environment programmers use to create application software through graphical user interfaces and configuration instead of traditional hand-coded computer programming.
Literally translated it is:
Low-code development platform (LCDP) is a software that provides programmers with a development environment for creating application software through a graphical user interface and configuration instead of traditional hand-coded computer programming.
2. Advantages and Disadvantages of Low Code
(1) Advantages of low code
The low-code development platform is based on classic visualization and model-driven concepts, combined with the latest cloud native and multi-terminal experience technologies. Its advantage is that it can not only reduce the development cost of business applications, but also achieve rapid delivery of business applications.
This is mainly reflected in two aspects: on the one hand, low-code development requires less coding and simpler environment setup and deployment costs, resulting in lower investment in the entire software life cycle process; on the other hand, low-code development It also significantly lowers the threshold for developers to use it. Non-professional developers can quickly get on the job after simple IT basic training, thus significantly reducing the dependence on the resources of professional developers with high salaries. According to Forrester's 2016 survey, most companies reported that low-code platforms helped them increase development efficiency by 5-10 times. And we have reason to believe that as low-code technology, products and industries continue to mature, this improvement multiple can continue to rise.
With the low-code development platform, software developers do not need to use traditional handwritten code methods for programming. Instead, they use the visual interface of the low-code platform management backend to complete development in more efficient ways such as graphical drag and drop and parameter configuration. work, allowing developers to develop applications for various business scenarios without any programming language foundation.
In this way, everyone is a developer, and development is no longer just for programmers. Technical novices can also feel the sense of achievement and satisfaction of developing a set of application software through visual operations.
(2) Disadvantages of low code
Low-code relies heavily on visual programming, that is, visual programming, which is generated by writing less code, or by dragging and dropping without writing code.
Generally speaking, the code automatically generated by a low-code platform system usually has more lines than pure manual code, and the code running efficiency will be lower than that of pure manual code.
Therefore, there are two prerequisites for low-code application: first, the target business system is suitable for visualization, and second, there can be a suitable low-code application platform that can be used to develop the target business system, thereby ensuring that the efficiency of system operation meets the expected requirements.
3. Will low-code replace traditional programming?
By analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of low-code, we can find that low-code and traditional programming (pure manual code) do overlap in application fields and scenarios, but they are not completely overlapping. There are still some differences:
Low-code is mainly used in fields and scenarios where the operating efficiency of the business system is not very high, the investment of resources is not high, and the frequency of upgrades and iterations is low.
Traditional programming (pure manual code) has the advantages of more accurate expression and more efficient operation, so it is mainly used in fields and scenarios with high operating efficiency, fast version iteration, and good compatibility for business systems.
Therefore, the relationship between the two is complementary and coexisting for a long time.
Of course, as computer performance, especially computing power, continues to grow, and the functions and performance of low-code development platforms continue to improve, the application areas and scenarios of low-code development platform functions will continue to expand. This is a two-way process.
China's low-code industry scale from 2017 to 2021 and forecast to 2025 (unit: 100 million yuan)
According to analysis, as of 2021, the overall scale of my country's low-code industry is approximately 2.75 billion yuan, an increase of more than 72% over the previous year. It is expected that the industry scale of low-code development will continue to grow in the next few years, and will exceed 11 billion yuan by 2025.
Four: How to get started with low code?
On November 11, 2021, Forrester released "The State Of Low-Code Platforms In China", focusing on China for the first time.
Forrester believes that low-code is mainly used in eight fields in China:
- bank
- Insurance
- retail
- medical
- government
- manufacture
- telecommunications
- architecture
At the same time, Forrester believes that China's low-code vendors can be divided into 9 categories:
- Digital Process Automation (BPM). Such as: Yanhuang Yingdong (AWS PaaS), Aozhe (Yunshu).
- Public cloud. Such as: Alibaba (Yida), Baidu (Aisuda), Huawei (App Rubik's Cube), Microsoft (Power Platform), Tencent (Weida).
- A low-code development platform for professional developers. Such as: ClickPaaS, Grape City (movable type grid), Mendix, Outsystems
- A low-code development platform for business developers. Such as: Joget DX, Qingliu.
- AI/machine learning. Such as: Fourth Paradigm (HyperCycle).
- BI. Such as: Fan Ruan (Jian Daoyun).
- Collaborative management. Such as: E-Builder.
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Such as: ViCode, Laiye (Process Creator).
- Digital operation platform. Such as: Yigo, Kingdee (Kingdee Cloud·Cangqiong), Inspur (iGIX), and UFIDA (YonBIP).
This can provide a useful reference for developers who want to start coding.