Ask HN: Is the future of software development going to a “no code” basis? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Is the future of software development going to a “no code” basis?

3 pointsjoaodmj13 comments

The problem that never seems to be solved by no-code tools is the debugging aspect of coding. Saving a few minutes writing code was never the problem; rather, we need more ways to save hours or days explaining why things behave the way they do.

It’s definitely cool when you can wire together a UI without a lot of effort and see it largely work. Yet if any part doesn’t work exactly right the first time, you may have no idea why. You are also at the mercy of the tool developer; if it has bugs (or bugs show up next year), you’re stuck, and they probably aren’t using an open file format that can be hacked to do the right thing.

These no-code tools also, in my experience, interact poorly with revision control, basic teamwork, and other aspects of development. You can’t easily do simultaneous edits for example.

I want to launch a discussion on the future of software development. It’s a fact that front-end development will be deprecated in a near future with tools like Webflow, Squarespace or Wix. This will mean that the future of front-end development will be made by designers or anyone with good sense of style. My question for debate is: shouldn’t we already have a tool that allowed us to build software on a visual / no code matter?

A non technical founder that don’t want to waste one year learning to code should have tools available to build software without knowing any programming language? Makes sense or is this just utopian?

"Waste" and "one year" are horrible assumptions behind this question.

What about "wasting" 4 years of high school and "wasting" a few years of college? Why should someone with an idea be hampered by wasting this time? One year is nothing, and even if it were a long time, it's not a "waste" -- you come out of it with a skill that is needed today, ie if you want to be part of the technical side of the company you wish to found.

Secondly, a mere one year of study is not going to result in a skilled practitioner. You will be able to make prototypes.

Digging a little deeper:

> *It's a fact"

No, it isn't. FE development is still not a "mature" space and Wix and the like only offer rather trivial customizations to a well-defined and constrained environment. What you describe as FE development is really content creation and styling, not "development".

Now that I've poo-poo'd the thought, in counterpoint do you know about kintone and the like? There's an entire ecosystem of no-code app development systems out there already. Some of them probably qualify as "mature".

Any sufficiently flexible tool for development is pretty much indistinguishable from a programming language. No-code programming is still programming.

Interesting point. I have to agree 100%. No matter how you create an application it will always have to have code. Even if for the user it may seem a "no-code" app.

I agree with you "waste" is a strong word when talking about learning new concepts.

On the FE side I stated it is a fact because of the revenue numbers of Wix and Squarespace (both around $500 Million / year). These numbers establish that they are solving a problem, i.e. non-technical people creating and managing their own applications. I can see my kids creating their apps and sites on a visual base...

"They're solving a problem (for some people)" != "they will replace FE development for (almost) all people", though.

Software without code is like food without ingredients.

Either somebody will describe to the computer what to do in sufficient detail that it can do it, or they won't. If they do, their description is code. If they don't, the computer won't know what to do and you don't have software.

The point is: can / should it be done on a "visual basis"?

Can you explain why the certainty of 'It’s a fact that front-end development will be deprecated in a near future' ? I'm fairly certain it's 'a possibility', rather 'a fact'

I stated it is a fact because of the revenue numbers of Wix and Squarespace (both around $500 Million / year). These numbers establish that they are solving an actual problem. If you look for the next ten years and our kids start to crate Apps and Websites with these tools, we can state with some confidence it will happen. Don't you agree?

Could you explain your premise?

I don't know of any "no code" development happening currently. Am I missing something(probably)?

Please see my first reply.

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