Programming opinion
The Line Between No-Code and Low-Code Is Becoming Blurred
Based on personal and technical information available.
Intuitively, the word “no-code” might lead you to expect you won’t have to write any programs, but there are significant differences depending on the product. The things that can be created by simply arranging icons in an application are all about what can be achieved by combining them. The learning cost increases as the number of functions increases, even though it is a no-code system.
On the other hand, some approaches do not use a general-purpose programming language such as Java or C but provide functions or a proprietary language to allow calculation formulas to be written. This overturns the idea that you don’t have to register programs, but if it’s a business system, you are naturally required to write calculation formulas.
Therefore, even if we say no code, as the target area of systemization shifts toward “business systems,” programming skills will inevitably become required.
So, what are the fields other than business systems where no code can be used?
You can think of things like creating a web page or e-commerce site or developing a smartphone UI prototype, but once you get used to these things, you might want to write about “processing.”
In other words, in my opinion, it doesn’t have to be so fundamental that no code = no programming at all (though it’s not realistically possible to do so).
On the other hand, when it comes to “low code,” according to Wikipedia, there are principles such as “model-driven design,” “automatic code generation,” and “visual programming.”
What you can see from these keywords is that they are intended to reduce development and maintenance man-hours for those who have previously developed applications using general-purpose programming languages. However, these are elemental technologies for realizing “no code.”
From the above, the explanation that no-code is “for those without programming knowledge” and low-code is “for those with programming experience” is easy to understand at first glance, but in reality, it is not so simple.
For example, Wagby is described as a low-code development tool. Still, there are many cases where people with no programming knowledge = such as Java, etc., have developed full-fledged business systems.
Even from this point of view, it is difficult to explain the difference from no-code. Now, I wanted to know if I could explain the difference between the two from a different perspective.
No-code is predicated on cloud-native, low-code is also cloud-compatible
No-code is now commonly provided in cloud environments. At the site of system operation, we are busy with appropriate data backups, server load countermeasures, and security patch applications, but being cloud-based eliminates these hassles, which is a significant advantage.
On the other hand, there are limitations, such as difficulty linking with existing systems and the inability to reuse existing databases. Still, if you are developing a system from now on, the benefits will outweigh it.
Following this trend, low-code must change from a development tool to a platform. Of course, the traditional method of installing on development PCs will continue to exist, but we believe the growing market will be cloud-based.
In that case, the target database will be limited to those provided in the cloud from the beginning — RDBs such as AWS’s Aurora or NoSQL DBs. Now that it is possible to operate core systems on public clouds using these fully managed databases, the boundaries between the two are disappearing from a cloud perspective.
No-code is based on the web and smartphones, and low-code is also a move away from relying solely on PCs.
In 2025, it will become standard for smartphones to operate core systems. No-code will provide rich screens on smartphones and PCs through its enhancements, while low-code will offer the same functionality as PCs on tablets and smartphones. Here, too, the boundaries between the two will disappear.
Compatible with business logic, low-code also becomes visual programming even with no code.
By adding functions to no-code, the realization of business logic will progress. On the other hand, when low code is provided cloud-based from the beginning, and a visual programming environment is provided, the difference from no code is no longer visible.
The last difference
No-code approaches low-code, and low-code incorporates the good points of no-code, so when the differences between the two disappear, eventually, “even people with no programming knowledge will be able to engage in full-scale system development.” You will be able to do this. So, what is the final difference? I think it will be customizable.
Since the starting point for low-code is from an engineer’s perspective, there are extension points that can be customized to fill in areas and functions not covered by the product.
On the other hand, no-code has deliberately not provided such extension points, thereby appealing to simplicity at the expense of scalability.
What kind of scalability will be required as low-code incorporates the cloud and smartphones? I think it’s the “customizability of the cloud platform” and the “adoption of his well-known OSS-based UI library.”
The former is specifically about clarifying specifications, such as which AWS services he is using and being able to accept configuration changes based on user requests. The latter means, for example, that by adopting a library like React, he leaves room for customization by engineers who can use the technology.
In summary, the future trend is that no-code does not offer the above customizability, while low-code does. However, in terms of functionality, the two will become increasingly close. It is predicted that this will happen.
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