The Truth Behind No-Code

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One of the most frequent questions we get asked is, “How can you possibly build an application without writing a single line of code?”

This skepticism is understandable. Most fundamentally, coding is piecing together actions, behavior, and data--all things that you need to build a functional application. The mindset of a developer puts the pieces together logically in order to solve problems. There is a need for logic in coding because you need to know what the end product will be before you start. In other words, you need to know how to put the pieces of actions, behavior, and data together in order to get the end result that you want. When building a house, for example, you can’t just start by building the attic first. Even if you have a blueprint, you need to follow structural rules, which coding provides.

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The Secret of No-Code

We’ll let you in on a secret: Actually, there is a lot of code that goes into building an HPaPaaS platform like Betty Blocks.

Programmers write the code that lays the foundation of the visual modeling elements that you then build your applications with. Essentially, when you build with a no-code platform you are building with code, it’s just hidden (so you don’t have to write it!).

Behind the Scenes

If you’re familiar with programming, the way that a no-code platform like Betty Blocks works can be compared to the processes of abstraction and encapsulation. Abstraction is the process where a programmer hides all but the most important data of a coded object in order to decrease complexity and increase efficiency. Similarly, encapsulation hides the details of how an object works. In other words, abstraction and encapsulation remove the nitty gritty details that aren’t essential characteristics of the object, from the perspective of the viewer. Those details are still there, built into the object.

So, when we call ourselves a no-code application development platform, what we really mean is that the code is already built-in to the components of the platform that you use to build an application. You can think of it like putting together a prefabricated house: First, we assemble each complete room, and then you just have to put the rooms together in the correct order (basement first, then kitchen and living room, second floor bedrooms, and finally the attic).

Build Faster 

You don’t have to lay the bricks of the foundation or build the walls of the house yourself, because we’ve already done it. When you build an application with Betty Blocks, you are essentially using abstracted blocks of pre-written code. That’s also where we get the name Betty Blocks.

That’s why building applications with Betty Blocks is so much faster. The platform allows you to build by visual modeling instead of coding, because the code is already contained in the drag-and-drop modules. Because you don’t have to re-write each line of code yourself any time you want to make adjustments, no-code platforms are ideal for fast iteration.


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