Taking "Hello, World" to the next level
Taking "Hello, World" to the next level
No-code tools are lowering barriers while elevating first-time experiences
Welcome to issue #3 of the No-code Analysis newsletter, a weekly newsletter about no-code, product development, user experience, and technology.
This issue explores why no-code reflects a different approach to software development, the importance of initial experiences for non-developer creators, and why no-code inspires 🚨controversy🚨 within developer and product communities.
Here’s what you’ll read about in this issue:
No-code is a new approach to development
The new “Hello, World!”
What we really mean when we talk about no-code
If you enjoy this issue, please like it above or leave a comment below. Have suggestions to make this newsletter better? We’re listening here and on Twitter @nocodemethod!
Moving beyond perpetual platform wars
Photo by Ian Battaglia on Unsplash
George Orwell’s dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, is set against a background where much of the world is experiencing a state of perpetual war and alliances that suddenly shift for somewhat indiscernible reasons.
“We have always been at war with…”
- George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
If you’ve spent time in the areas of the internet frequented by developers (Stack Overflow, Reddit, message boards, etc.), you’ll likely be able to recall heated debates representing passionate perspectives that resemble something approaching perpetual war.
If there’s one topic that will get developers and product people fired up, it’s a discussion about the best ways to establish coding languages and standards. You’ve seen the debates: Angular vs React. Indentation standards of 2 spaces or tabs. Linux vs Windows vs macOS. “Real” languages vs PHP.
So it is no surprise that no-code tools, with their new approach to empowering creators, has inspired similar controversy and robust pushback from some developers.
It would be a mistake, though, to consider no-code a new combatant in the ever-present developer wars. No-code instead reflects a completely different approach, with a fundamentally different audience.
Hello, World?
Full-time developers and weekend hobbyists alike are familiar with the “Hello, World!” project that is often a first step toward getting started with a new language or framework.
BEGIN
Install a software library or framework
Bump into dependency issues
Install patches
Do initial app configuration
Create a host environment on a server or local development machine
???
Eventually, print out a
“Hello, World!”message.END
Although it is satisfying to receive that successful message, no one sets out to build a “Hello, World!” app. It is simply an initial, familiar step to learning a new language or framework. Because “Hello, World!” tutorials leave the developer with little more than a blank canvas, the next thought after completion often becomes “Ok, now where do I start?”.
With many no-code tools, the concept of a “Hello, World!” tutorial is completely upended. Often, a first-time user will skip tutorials altogether and jump directly into the creation process. Within moments of signing up, a user can begin working with a fully functional app. Simply add, subtract, and modify components as needed to suit their vision.
This stark difference in experiences reflects a fundamental philosophical difference between many no-code tools and traditional development processes. Because it is so simple to immediately begin working with none of the traditional installation and configuration barriers, the no-code creative process reflects a number of unique characteristics.
No blank canvases: the vast majority of beginning no-code developers can start from a functioning template app that works as advertised, setting the creator well on their path toward creating a customized experience that meets their specific needs.
Experimental mindset: the creative process often begins atop the foundation of a pre-built solution, so there is an inherent remix culture that enables users to simply experiment and try new things.
Low barrier to entry and iterative approach: with little to no startup cost, creators are empowered to try different approaches until they find a solution that works for them, simply deleting failed experiments without remorse.
What we really mean when we say “no-code”
No-code does not refer to a specific language or tool or standard. No-code is also not about code vs no code, and it is certainly not anti-code.
No-code (or no code or low code, depending on preference and context) is a new way of thinking about creation. Fundamentally, no-code tools remove requirements to interact with or deploy the underlying code, allowing creators to instead use a visual interface that exposes their data and the full capabilities of the underlying code.
Freed from the entire process of wrestling with syntax and coding standards and server infrastructure, a resourceful no-code user can create solutions that would have previously required a team of developers to produce. And they can do it faster than ever.
"It's about being creative. Now the barriers are lower to actually go out and build the thing."
- Ben Tossel, Makerpad (source: What is no code and why should you care?)
No-code goes beyond an evolutionary step in the march of technical development. It is a radical leap forward in the creative process. Now anyone can turn their ideas into reality.
Quick bits
🛠️Google announces Business Application Platform featuring AppSheet
Google has rolled out the Google Business Application Platform, an offering to help businesses easily create APIs and applications without coding.
This platform combines the recently-acquired no-code tool AppSheet with the API platform capabilities of Apigee. Part of the vision is that organizations can host, publish, and even monetize their APIs through Apigee running on Google’s platform.
As an example use case, developers within an organization could expose an API to be hosted on Google’s infrastructure. Developers could build applications using the API, while non-developers within the organization could build internal applications using AppSheet’s simple visual interface without writing a line of code. Consuming the same hosted API, external solution partners could use the approved API to build integration into their existing products and pay for API usage.
It will be interesting to monitor the reach of this platform into organizations that are already using Google services. As Google adds additional integrations to AppSheet, we may see teams or individuals begin to leverage their organization’s data and APIs without realizing they are taking a leap into application development.
🤝The Makerpad #T30 challenge rolls on
If you spend any time in the proximity of no-code Twitter, you’ll undoubtedly have noticed that the Makerpad #T30 challenge is in full swing in September. Each day brings new updates from makers that are building in public and sharing their progress.
If you have been inspired by all the activity but have been watching from the sidelines, you still have two weeks to create something cool and be a part of the excitement with the community. Check out the tweet below, register for the challenge within the Makerpad community, and join in some webinars intended to help you form your idea and start building.
Regardless of what you decide to build, this is a great opportunity to be inspired by those that are building alongside you and learn from experienced creators and advisors that have successfully done it before.
What are you waiting for? Go for it!
That’s all for this issue. Thanks for reading. We hope it gave you some things to think about and inspires you to get out there and build!
Please let us know what you liked, what you didn’t like, and point out anything we missed. You can drop a comment below, and we’re always listening on Twitter @nocodemethod.
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