ᐈ What is the 'No Code' revolution and why should it interest you? 📝

No Code is a philosophy that wants to change how web pages, applications or games are created. Without code. That anyone can make apps without programming. 

Today's technology is very friendly. Or try. By pressing a few buttons, following simple menus and setup wizards, you don't need to be an engineer to program your washing machine, record and upload a video to the internet, or configure your home's smart lighting. But technology in general, and computing in particular, have not always been and are not so simple. Sometimes they require effort, dedication and knowledge. But the No Code movement wants to change this. What if we could design our own mobile applications without programming, without code?.

I don't discover anything new. Proposals like this have been around for years. We have made complex tasks available to the average user and today it seems natural to us, although a few decades ago it was only in the hands of a few. I am referring to tasks as common as using a computer, editing videos and photos, or publishing your own e-book. Why not go further? In a society in which everything revolves around the internet, applications and the digital, we can make it possible for anyone to create a web page or an application. A graphical tool that facilitates this task is enough.

The main barrier to this is in the code. To create an application or web page professionally, you have to know certain programming languages, use them in practice by writing code, debugging that code, compiling it, testing it in a real or virtual environment, and much more. But the No Code movement wants to simplify this process. Why not make the task of programming an app as easy as creating a Word document or PowerPoint presentation?

The simpler the better

Looking back at the evolution of computing is a practical way to understand the problem. The first computers were gigantic, handcrafted hulks in which everything had to be done almost manually. Orders were entered using punched cards, after translation into the language the machine understood. Then it returned the result by printing it on paper. From there to everything we can do with our mobile phone using a finger, usually the thumb, it is clear that we have evolved a lot. And the key is that everything has been simplified for the user. Inside is another story.

If today, to handle an electronic device, it is not an essential requirement to know commands or have notions of programming, by that rule of three we should be able to program applications in the same way. The key? Graphical interfaces, which convert code into virtual elements that are easy for anyone to mentally decode. Precisely, for years the little ones have been introduced to programming with applications such as Scratch, which represent pieces of code through the parts of a puzzle and other elements with which it is more comfortable to interact on a touch screen or with a keyboard and mouse.

From Low Code to No Code

First was the Low Code movement. This term was coined by the business advisory and research company Forrester Research. The idea behind this concept is to democratize access to the creation of applications and other digital projects that require code in between. It is not about removing professionals from the code. But allow any professional to be able to program without code. Or at least, with as little code as possible.

Over time, this philosophy has evolved and today there is a drastic commitment to the concept of No Code. The purpose is the same. That not knowing how to program is not an impediment. Hence the proliferation in recent years of tools, many of them online, that make programming a simple task. Even professional solutions like  Google's Android Studio follow this philosophy so that  programmers and non-programmers feel comfortable creating Android applications. With code or with graphic menus, such as the design editor, which allows you to add graphic elements on the screen while the corresponding XML file is completed with the code.

To achieve their purpose, No Code platforms and services offer templates and graphical editors that turn the programming experience into a more puzzle-like activity. Normally, by means of modular elements that we manage with the mouse and the keyboard, the tool translates them into code that we do not need to edit manually. Of course, we can see both versions at the same time, the graphic and the textual.

Another peculiarity of the No Code movement is that it unifies in its tools the entire process from the design of an application or web page until it is published online or in the corresponding application store. Thus, we not only create the application, we can also test it, integrate elements such as payment gateways or third-party services and, finally, we send it so that iOS and Android users can download it on their devices.

Advantages for companies and individuals

If we democratize the creation of applications, then it is no longer a competition to see who programs better. The battlefield becomes even and the fight to see who has the best idea turns. Moreover, many ideas have been discarded because the person in question did not have the necessary knowledge, contacts or investment capacity. Precisely, the cost of creating applications and web pages is cheaper thanks to No Code solutions. Just as today anyone can broadcast live through  YouTube or Twitch without the exorbitant budget that traditional television stations manage, an application can be created in less time and with a much more limited budget.

To put some figures. According to Fortune magazine, 97% of their Fortune 500 reference list uses No Code solutions to develop digital products such as applications, games or web pages. And this will mean that in 2025, 70% of applications on the market, many of them installed on your phone, will have No Code components. To which must be added experimentation with artificial intelligence. Solutions like OpenAI allow programming using natural language.

This does not mean the end of the programmer as such. Moreover, more and more professional profiles such as Front End Developer, UI/UX Designer, Full Stack Developer, Product Manager or Backend Developer are in demand. The list is extensive. Actually, both can coexist. Programmers and non-programmers, under the No Code movement. Simply, for simpler projects or with little room for manoeuvre, No Code solutions will be used, while in the more professional field, the current situation will be maintained.

On the other hand, it does not collide with the general idea that today everyone should have notions of programming. It is still something recommended, and has been integrated into school curricula as a subject of study: robotics, programming, etc. Simply, professional profiles increasingly related to programming, will be able to live without code in their projects without it being an obstacle to creating professional digital products.