Low-Code Development — Smash or Pass?
I have been exposed to low-code development projects recently. I would like to share my thoughts about it.
1. What is Low Code Development
The first scenario pop into your head might be development by drag and drop. That is partially right but we can think bigger than that.
Firstly, low-code development is not a new concept back in the 1990s, there are already some low-code development platforms and frameworks.
But these days there are more and more tools available on the market. They have some common features like support visual assist programming, drag and drop programming.
This could be a big trend in the near future. Professionals do not need many years of training to write maintainable projects.
2. Pros and Cons
There is an old saying regarding trade-off in software engineer: Fast, Good, and Cheap pick two.
Pros:
- Development fast and cheap
- Increase productivity
For the commonly used function, you can simply use the wrapped-up activity to achieve. But once you are not happy with the existing activity that is another story.
Cons:
- Performance is not highly customizable
- Hard to migrate
- Rely On Framework Provider
3. Low Code In Commercial Project
Before start the project at least you need to get yourself familiar with the low code platform in the following two perspectives:
- Roadmap of this low-code platform
- Go through their own community website and StackOverflow to find the frequently asked question and pain points of this platform.
Ceiling analysis:
Must do! Must do! Must do!
Before making the decision please make sure you understand the restrictions of the low-code platform you would like to use compare it with your business requirement. Once you are in the middle of low-code development, it is not easy to quit. Because you need to give up everything you have developed with.
Customize Components
Even if you are using low code development platform you still need to write your own code.
Before writing your own component to integrate with the platform there is one thing you must do is to read the documentation. Make sure your component is deployable.
I have met the situation my react component is working but not compatible with the platform which wastes my whole week to figure out.
4. Low Code Development in the future
Will low code development become the mainstream? My answer is no.
But for some specific industries, low code development will play an important role. Let’s take the GIS industry as an example. In the GIS area, performance is not very important. Those tools are designed for operators rather than the public. Plus the way how operators are going to use the applications is highly predictable.
There are more and more industries like the GIS industries so that my opinion about low code development is really positive.
5. Conclusion:
For internal applications, which are not customer-facing, I highly recommend you to use a low-code development framework but before start the project please do some ceiling analysis. Make sure to choose the low-code platform an active community and a reliable support team.
In the future, more and more developers will work for Sass products which provide low-code tools to help general people enter the coding industry. These tools are the low-code platform.
