The term low code has been around since it was coined by a Forrester Research analyst in 2014. The concept was originally intended to allow so-called “citizen developers”—those whose business acumen exceeds their coding skill—to develop applications. But in the ensuing years, low-code platforms such as Oracle Application Express (Oracle APEX) and Oracle Visual Builder have found fans among experienced professional developers.

“We are talking about application development which does not require an excessive amount of code,” explains Joel Kallman, senior director of software development for Oracle’s Server Technologies division, and one of the panelists in this podcast. “There is a cost associated with every line of code that is written for every application, regardless of language. The more code you write to deliver an application, the greater the cost.” According to Kallman, low-code application development reduces the time (and lines of code) required to deliver a high-quality application.

Oracle ACE Director Karen Cannell, president and consultant with TH Technology, notes how much times have changed. “Back in the day, people got paid by lines of code to quantify the complexity of an application. In terms of cost, we don’t measure things by lines of code anymore. But by reusing models, by using services, we’re not writing as much. We’re reusing a lot. We’re building components, we’re building plugins, and that makes it easier to put out a finished product faster,” Cannell explains. “The whole lifecycle is faster.”

According to Oracle ACE Director Peter Raganitsch, CEO of FOEX, low code is about solving business problems rather than technical problems. “That’s a very important factor to me,” he says. “The less code we write, the more modules we use, the more building blocks we have, the better. I don’t see any other way than low code, actually.”

Martin Giffy D’Souza, director of innovation at Insum Solutions, and an Oracle ACE Director and Groundbreaker Ambassador, used to consider himself a developer first. “But now I don’t like calling myself that because in the end, I solve business problems, and customers really don’t look at the code. They don’t care about the code. They want to see results. They don’t care if I spend time writing a new framework to display some button or grid. They just want to know if it solves their business problem. I think, overall, low-code platforms help you do that because they take away a lot of the redundant and repetitive things that you just don’t really need to worry about anymore.”

In this podcast, the panel explores the use of low-code platforms and why they have captured the attention of pro developers.

This conversation was recorded via ZOOM on Monday June 1, 2020.