What Is No-Code Development?
No-code development is exactly what it sounds like: Building and deploying useful business applications without writing a single line of code. There’s no need for expertise in any of the application development languages used in traditional programming, such as Basic, C++, Pascal, or Java. That’s a substantial advantage since these special-purpose languages are difficult to learn and even simple tasks may take thousands of lines of instructions.
The best use cases for no-code development are straightforward tasks. Examples include gathering data for a project or an event or designing a dashboard that can pull and display data from an external source, such as an enterprise database. Results improve when the person creating the app knows the project well and is working closely with the people who will use it. Often, these applications are built for a specific short-term need and abandoned afterward. This quick spin up/spin down paradigm is impractical for traditionally written software, which can take months or even years of designing, writing, testing, and revising by a whole team of developers.
No Code vs. Low Code: What’s the Difference?
The paradigms we now call no-code and low-code development emerged in the 1980s. Both are intended to allow nonprogrammers to create software, but they take slightly different approaches.
With no-code development, a business power user is presented with a screen of graphical elements, such as search and form fields, checkboxes, and buttons. The user drags and drops relevant functional icons onto a visual canvas, wires them up with connectors to external data sources, and adds logic that can perform “if/then” actions and the like.
Many no-code platforms include templates that help make the application look professional. They may also include components that can generate graphs and charts or data collection forms, even add functionality such as postal code verification or some other type of data validation. The finished application typically runs within a browser on a desktop or mobile device, though it may look more like a mobile app.
Low-code development is very similar to no-code development. Both start with a visual design canvas, have drag-and-drop graphical elements, and offer templates for a more polished, professional design. Both approaches facilitate access to external data sources and result in software that runs in a desktop or mobile browser. These tools may also allow the program to be installed as a mobile app.
When deciding whether to choose no code or low code, consider the sophistication of the application. Low-code environments provide workflow automation, data integration, and logical building blocks that rival those of custom-built applications created by professional developers. These capabilities require app developers to perform some coding, but often in a simplified language that’s specific to that low-code tool and is easier to learn than Java or C++, for example.
The low-code development system—which, like no code, often runs in a browser—typically includes sophisticated tools for documenting the code design, as well as detecting, tracking down, and fixing bugs. You can also expect to find performance analyzers that help slow low-code apps run faster. Some tools even allow groups of employees to collaborate on building a low-code app. By contrast, no-code development is a solo activity.
A benefit of low code is that these apps can evolve over time, with new functionality being added as needs change. For example, many of the applications used internally by Oracle employees, and even those running portions of the Oracle website, are written in the APEX low-code environment.
Some training and experience are required to write apps in APEX and other low-code platforms. Low code may be simpler than writing code in C++ or Java, but—unlike no-code development—it’s not a case of “I’ll write the app after breakfast and deploy after lunch.”
Key Takeaways
- You can build and deploy apps using no-code tools in a day, or maybe a week if the app is complicated. Compare that to the months required for software written by an enterprise development team.
- To help keep your apps and data safe, some no-code tools can tie into your enterprise user authentication systems to control access.
- The costs of building no-code apps are low—far less than having professional developers tackle a formal project.
- With some no-code environments, you can supplement drag-and-drop tools with code as needed to add functionality, call external APIs, or perform complex operations.
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