Low code platform design exploration, how to better empower developers

The concept of low code , The earliest proposed time was in 2014 About years ago , It has been on the rise since then , With the development of Ali in recent two years 、 Tencent's admission one after another , Competition has gradually increased .
Low code development platform is a product based on the concept of low code , It refers to a platform that can quickly generate applications without coding or through a small amount of code .
These platforms are built by assembling reusable components , So that developers can quickly design applications through visual working interface , To solve the long cycle of traditional software development mode 、 The problem of high cost , The main customer groups are software development companies or owners IT Medium and large enterprises in the Department .

What the low code development model expects to achieve
Lower the development threshold : Low code development platform is based on common business form , Most of these platforms on the market have been encapsulated , And provide visualization 、 Drag and drop operation mode , Reduce a large number of simple low-level code operations , To a certain extent, it reduces the development threshold .
Accelerate system delivery : When most functions of the system can be simply configured by building blocks , In addition to making development less difficult , It also reduces the risk of code errors , It reduces the time and labor cost of testing and repair , The system development cycle is shortened , Improved delivery efficiency .
Establish a sustainable development strategy IT framework ： Enterprises should develop , The process is bound to become more and more standardized 、 Standardization and unification , In the face of new market demand , It can support the construction of new functions in time , At the same time, it will not affect the use of the existing system , Enables business to respond quickly .

A qualified low code platform needs a lot of application software development experience to better capture the pain points of users , Goals expected from low code mode 「 Lower the development threshold 」、「 Accelerate system delivery 」、「 Establish a sustainable development strategy IT framework 」 Let's expand on these points , It can outline the interaction design direction of the platform .
1. Lower the development threshold
The core of the platform should be based on visualization , Forms 、 The workflow and the table editor corresponding to the process node should also be visualized in the whole process , It should have multiple functions 、 Strong component 、 Easy to use 、 The effect is intuitive , Developers can call... By dragging and dropping 、 Parameter configuration , Plus its own logical rule definition , Complete the construction of common systems .
Visual process ： Process is the foundation of a system , Usually by the process menu 、 drawing 、 jurisdiction 、 Flow direction logic configuration and other modules , Each module is arranged separately , Associate business through parameter settings .

Visualization forms ： It usually consists of multi type drag and drop components , Preview area （ Editing area ） And parameter configuration module , The whole is simple and beautiful , Conform to the operating habits .

Code generator ： Usually by data sheet 、 form 、 Interface and other parts , Code generation for drag and drop form pages , You can directly customize the code file location for secondary development , Some platforms are modified after downloading , Not as convenient as the former .

It can be seen that , In some common functions of software , With the help of visualization tools , The development threshold can be reduced to a certain extent .
2. Accelerate system delivery
Process design 、 Business logic design is the core competence of low code platform , Visual design capabilities help end users simplify development .
However, with the in-depth excavation and continuous exploration of the understanding of customer needs , Individualization 、 The continuous emergence of customized services and other businesses , application development 、 to update , The deployment cycle continues to shorten , The demand of enterprises for continuous application delivery is becoming more and more obvious . future , Under the premise of business acceleration , Stability of platform 、 Security 、 The ability of sustainable expansion will gradually become an important weight in brand competition .
be based on UI Personalized requirements of interface design , The low code platform should provide different theme templates for different industry groups .

For reuse of component libraries between different projects , Rich rules should be followed 、 convenient 、 Independent , The new functions of each system will not affect the use of existing functions , And ensure that the new functions are stable and compatible with the main system or various subsystems .

The functional modules of the mobile terminal follow the unified reuse standard , technological process 、 The basic functions of the form class shall be synchronized to the mobile terminal , The home page configuration customization function should be as comprehensive as possible , For wechat 、 nailing 、 Alipay and other common small programs should be easily accessible. .

3. Establish a sustainable development strategy IT framework
Establish a sustainable development strategy IT Architecture is of great significance to the development of enterprises .
Traditional non software enterprises generally invest a certain amount of money in finished software , This can solve the current business needs in a certain period of time . But with the expansion of enterprise business , The existing software is bound to be unable to fully meet the personalized business needs ,. Due to the lack of autonomy of information , Function upgrading and maintenance based on existing software , This will again cost a lot of money .
And the introduction of low code platform , It can aggregate resources into a unified platform , This can promote the standardization of application development 、 Standardization and unification . In addition, low code platforms generally keep up with the latest technology , In this way, there is no need to worry about the obsolescence of the system . Of course , Enterprises with certain technical strength can also develop their own technology platform based on the platform .
At the end
Low code platform as an intermediate product of partial application , The understanding of product design in the market is different , But as a kind of IT Solution , Actively integrate into the perspective of product development , Know the business , Broaden capability boundaries , Is a good way to improve .
Platform as a development tool , At the same time, designers should constantly inject soft power support into the platform , Update the design specification of sedimentation components , Strengthen the application of business composite components , At the same time, pay enough attention to the mobile terminal .
Cally.