‘No-Code’ Startup Unqork Hits $2B Valuation with New Fundraise | Hacker News Reader

‘No-Code’ Startup Unqork Hits $2B Valuation with New Fundraise

forbes.com

10 pointspseudolus6 comments

Everyone's clamoring over these kinds of tools right now. If "no-code" or "low-code" was such a godsend, then we'd all be using visual programming tools instead of writing code directly. Now, why is it that visual programming tools haven't taken over? It's because, at the end of the day, textual interfaces are vastly more performant and efficient.

The entire gist behind these tools that try to get away from "code" is based on the assumption that code somehow makes things more expensive or difficult. I really don't think that's true.

I agree. Code is usually just a way of representing what you want your app/the machine to do.

I think no-code only makes sense if you make multiple, similar products comprised of existing building blocks and then using a basic visual editor to mark the relation between them. But again, with code it can be similar, you can have differet libraries/packages/APIs and just describe the connection between them.

There were a lot of tools/frameworks to create software "without coding". I believe the problem is some people are understanding the complexity in a wrong way. Coding isn't complex (and today it is much more true than it used to be) because of some natural complexity of coding itself. Rather it is because it strives to express complex ideas. And whichever language (visual, textual) is used to express complex ideas it has to be at least as complex as those ideas themselves. I personally found that having a formal language is often easier to express complex ideas compared to any visual tool I have seen. One place where these tools can shine would be probably trivial apps. Maybe that's the point...

Yes, exactly! Misunderstood source of complexity.

I think one of the draws to these kinds of applications is that designers are trying to close the gap between themselves and developers.

I'm interested in this problem, but I'm taking a different approach, because I totally agree with you. The source of complexity is not the inherent complexity of coding itself - it's just the complexity of the problem.

So I'm currently trying to build a coding language for UI designers. The idea is that it would merely a textual interface to express design specifications, unlike other languages which are geared towards implementation. And it would use the same verbiage and mental models that designers are familiar with.

I have recently looked at 2 nocode solutions:

* https://www.glideapps.com/ * https://honeycodecommunity.aws/

I was particularly impressed with glideapps as it allows you to build most of your app with excel sheets (google sheets actually). I think the thing that surprised me the most was that I previously though (clojurescript) coding was the best solution for any app more complicated than a recipe book. However glide caused me to realize that there is a solid (though very broad) set of apps that are best built with these nocode solutions.

I thought it was a bit of a marketing stretch to call honeycode a "nocode" solution. When you are pasting things like `FINDROW(Leads, "Leads[Region] = ""West""")[Email]` in your application I think you are coding. It does however have a pretty advanced relation model and also lets you build your (a bit ugly, lets be honest) UI with a nice WYSIWYG editor.

Anyway, nothing profound to say about it. But these nocode solutions are powerful in ways that aren't directly addressed by software engineering.

1) When doing nocode, your mental framework shifts from "How can this be done?" to "Is it ok to do without this thing?" As a software engineer you are used to modifying anything. You think of solutions. When you are nocoding though you are a user of a service and therefore are limited to what the service provides. You ask "can I do without?" Rather than "How can this be done?" It is a change of perception.

2) No coding opens up a world of application development to a solid majority of the population. Like the printing press, the quality will go down on average but the volume will make up for it. :)

3) No coding maybe has problems when analytics, scaling, aggregation, etc. come into play.

4) In my experience when I have walked up to nocoding solutions as a software engineer, they are just messes in terms of untangling. I don't know if nocoding solutions have great migration stories. With that said, I think most businesses may not need to upgrade to code from their nocode solution as they will never scale to those needs.

Anywho, those are some random thoughts. I will give this Unqork a looksy next, sounds neat.

A mediocre idea with great marketing beats a great idea with mediocre marketing.

We've been down this road before. Anybody remember 4GL languages?

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