Re:Ask HN: What low code platforms are worth using?
by cookie_monsta on Tuesday September 19, 2023 @01:25PM
(#37573212)
> Yeah code is not a bad thing
I think code is a great thing, just that the "everything looks like a nail" argument goes both ways
Re:Ask HN: What low code platforms are worth using?
by namaria on Wednesday September 20, 2023 @02:32AM
(#37581053)
This whole hammer metaphor gets too stretched in the context of software. Code is not a single thing, it's a whole approach to programming computers. It's hard won territory, seeing people had to use machine code and op code tables to program for a good chunk of history. And the allergy some people feel about it is unjustified in my opinion. The strengths of coding tooling are well worth the investment and trying to avoid code as if it ware a deterrent to "getting things done" is failing to understand what is hard about programming. Not learning how to code (and properly, with version control, code reviews etc which are surprisingly shunned by some professional programmers). The hard things about programming non trivial computer systems are made easier by the scaffolding of programming languages. Not harder.
Re:Ask HN: What low code platforms are worth using?
by sfn42 on Wednesday September 20, 2023 @12:36PM
(#37586333)
Low code is great if you don't know programming. For more complex systems you want developers who understand the system deeper than "box connects to other box makes things go brr", and if you have developers who know what they're doing they'll make a better system faster with actual code.
Low code is just a GUI on top of some library. I'd rather just write the code and call the library functions directly than mess around with boxes that do nothing other than limit my options.
It may seem like a good idea to postpone such considerations. And it might even be in some situations. But complexity will still bite you in the ass even if you sweep it under the carpet and tell people not to worry about it (for now).
But if people say you can't replace a railroad consist that necessitates engineers and designs with wheel barrels that anyone can push and you say "you totally can, you just need enough wheel barrels" you're being disingenuous about the realities of the two approaches.