People who use no-code are working through a fundamentally different process than those who use traditional development approaches—which is why we refer to them as “Creators.”
Different names have always been used to describe the talented people who build the software that powers our digital lives—coder, developer, programmer, engineer. However, when it comes to people who build applications with no-code, none of these names seemed like the right fit. In response, we came up with our own vocabulary to better suit the type of building we do. Here’s how the term “Unqork Creator” was born.
The Rise of No-Code
A no-code application development platform is exactly what it sounds like—a platform that can be used to build software without writing a single line of code. By using a visual interface and modular components, no-code platforms don’t just represent a powerful alternative to traditional application development, as much as they represent a fundamental paradigm shift.
How intuitive and powerful is Unqork? Watch how we build a powerful piece of software in just one minute.
When it comes to ROI, no-code decreases project failure and reduces both operational and maintenance costs. It also requires less investment in resources and allows companies to get products to market faster.
These qualities have sparked the exponential growth of no-code—according to Forrester, the no-code development platform market will grow to be valued at a whopping $21.2 billion by 2022.
No-code is here to stay, and it’s time for us to get comfortable with the language we should use to talk about it.
The No-Code Difference
When thinking about no-code terminology, it’s helpful to think about the contrast between what no-code offers versus low-code. With low-code, resuable blocks of code are inserted into the codebase in order to make development more efficient—but ultimately, coding is still a necessary prerequisite to building with low-code. Low-code still need to know their way around common coding languages to build (indeed, some use proprietary languages as well). As such, people who use low-code can still be accurately referred to as developers or programmers or coders because that’s what they do.
Users never see code, never write code—indeed, scripting isn’t allowed anywhere in Unqork’s platform.
No-code, on the other hand, is a true democratization of app-building that can be accessed by both traditional developers and non-developers alike. Instead of writing code, no-code applications are built using reusable configurable compoentents which can be drag-and-dropped in a visual UI. The system will then translate these configurations into code upon rendering.
Users never see code, never write code—indeed, scripting isn’t allowed anywhere in Unqork’s platform. That’s why we don’t think of building with Unqork as developing, coding, or engineering—we think of it as creating. Our Unqork “Creators” aren’t people who manipulate code. Instead, they shape complex logic and flows to create applications that meet their needs.
A Declarative vs. Imperative Approach
To further illustrate the no-code difference, let’s take a look at this from another angle. No-code is also transformative because it relies on a declarative approach to app development, while low-code and traditional software development platforms take an imperative approach. While an imperative approach focuses on the specific steps necessary to achieve a certain goal, a declarative approach focuses on what the goal is.
Confused? Technology Educator Tyler McGinnis explains the distinction between the two by using the example of providing someone with directions: Imagine that someone asks you how to get to your house. An imperative approach might involve a response something like, “Get on I-90 West until you see the signs for Exit 30A. Take a right off the exit and drive past McDonald’s until you reach a fork in the road. Take a left and my house will be at the end of the street.” A declarative approach, on the other hand, would be a response more like, “My address is 123 Cherry Street.” Rather than focusing on the steps taken to get somewhere, a declarative approach focuses on the result you want to achieve.
Similarly, while code provides instructions that tell a platform how to carry out specific steps that lead to a desired outcome, no-code allows you to create and define what an application should do. In essence, programmers program out steps, but no-code creators create—and we think that simple language change makes all the difference.
To learn more about what it’s like to be an Unqork Creator, check out what some of our employees have to say in our ongoing Creator Spotlight series.
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