The “no code/low code” movement has really begun to develop into a new tool for the development community. Before we take a deeper dive into the possibilities let’s explore what exactly is no code and low code.

No Code: No-code development platform allows programmers and non-programmers to create application software through graphical user interfaces and configuration instead of traditional computer programming (Wikipedia).

Low Code: A low-code development platform provides a development environment used to create application software through graphical user interfaces and configuration instead of traditional hand-coded computer programming (Wikipedia). 

You’ll note by the definitions that they are very similar – hence the useage of terms synonymously.

The advantage of no code/low code tools is that it opens up a door of possibilities for both the coders and the non-coders to become developers. While developing a website or application does require coding – it’s actually much more than that. There’s the user interface (UI), user experience (UX), design thinking, marketing and more that goes into an idea becoming a reality and successfully in the hands (or on the screens) of the end user. All those components take time and skills sets that can be unique but with the coming of these tools the barriers between ideation to creation and deployment are removed. This new type of developers are called Citizen Developers.

What is a citizen developer? I like the definition from BMC to best explain. It states “A citizen developer is a title given to a software developer whose skills are not defined by formal training, or who may have some formal training or certifications but hasn’t worked in the field or trained extensively. A citizen developer can work in a number of different platforms that help them create successful software, but the key trait of a citizen developer is they create software packaged for enterprise businesses.”

Now that we have an idea of what the citizen developer is, let’s explore the reasons for the rise of it as provided by Forbes.

1. Increased Need A shortage of skilled software developers and an overworked IT department can create significant challenges for business decision makers charged with allocating resources. It’s been estimated by Forrester research that by 2024 the U.S. will have a deficit of 500,000 software developers
2. Training Educational resources are key to expanding any organization’s understanding of citizen development and how it can enable greater business agility and empower employees.
3. Future of Development Citizen development is not only here to stay but will also play a critical role in future software development initiatives.

The platforms available to develop on this new tools are plentiful. Budibase lists 12 of the top tools available.

1. Budibase
2. Zapier
3. IFTTT
4. Airtable
5. Typeform
6. Shopify
7. Webflow
8. Carrd
9. Payhere
10. Stripe
11. Memberstack
12. Voiceflow

One of the latest options available to take part of this movement is Amazon Honeycode. The new Amazon service is a fully-managed AWS service that gives developers the power to build powerful mobile & web applications without writing any code. It uses the familiar spreadsheet model and lets you get started in minutes.

Honeycode is still in beta but if you enjoy working with tools like Excel and Access I have a feeling you’ll enjoy exploring what this tool has to offer in terms of opportunities to build quickly and bring those ideas to life.

Curious about getting started with this new tool from the biggest cloud computing provider? Check out some of these resources below.

1. AWS Educate
   • Available to educators and students
   • Must be 14 or older
2. AWS Training & Certificate
   • Available to anyone with an Amazon account
   • Taught by Amazon professionals
   • Earn certificates of completion
3. Amazon Honeycode website and start getting your hands dirty with the creation

Hear a little more about this new type of development and we teach it at Hocking College to help our students develop into the developers needed for today and tomorrow.