The first high-level programming was invented in 1949, it could be written in an English-like way to program the electronic computer. Since then we as a society have developed many more programming languages that can do many more things, almost everything you see is in some way powered by code and programming is and has been very high in-demand skill, but now a new technology is on the rise and its called, No-code.
The more technical term is end-user programming, this essentially refers to a collection of tools that make it possible for those who are not programmers by profession to develop software without actually having to write code. There have been attempts to make programming simpler, less complicated, and accessible to a larger audience for as long as there have been computers to program. Before the Macintosh, “personal computers” were not readily available so those who owned computers programmed them. Apple presented new software that was applicable to those who were non-programmers, the macintosh series allowed users to do things like edit documents, create graphics, and communicate online. The term “end-users” was used to describe the “…vast majority of personal computer users whose use of a computer consists of taking advantage of currently available software” (Cypher 4). Even though people don’t necessarily want to be programmers they would still appreciate and benefit from the power of programming, given it can be done easily and with little effort, hence the creation of no-code.
An example of no-code that is already widely accessible and commercially used is spreadsheet programming. If you have used Excel by Microsoft you may know that you can manipulate and use the data by running some sort of automated function to do various calculations as seen in Fig 1. This is end-user programming because it is a method of programming that allows the user to write code without writing a complex algorithm from scratch. Tools that allow you to launch a website without writing code are also considered no-code or low-code applications. These include software like WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix.
No-code is not meant to take away jobs from serious programmers. Programmers will be needed to make these tools, the purpose of no code is to bring allow more people to develop software. If people are able to develop software easily, then more ideas will become a reality and drive society forward. No code will essentially automate the boring parts of programming such as “creating logins, building marketing landing pages, or reading data from an API call” (nocodejournal).
Startups and Corporations will benefit greatly from this because it will allow them to worry less about the technology and more about whatever their product is. In startups especially there tend to be more ideas than programmers, no-code platforms allow founders and teams to execute their ideas. Incorporations they tend to be slow when it comes to development, this will change those trends and bring new software faster.
The platforms building nocode will definitely be something to look out for. My advice for programmers is to start learning and creating nocode tools and look into what those companies are doing. It is on track to be a billion dollar industry in 5 years. A link is attached with good nocode platforms to read about. https://www.adamenfroy.com/no-code-platforms.
