What do you think about no-code ?

[Andrei Saioc]

Lately my feed is full of people talking about no code, and I’m curious what everyone here really thinks about it.
Every second LinkedIn post is a “no code dev changed my life” story, but there’s still a lot of confusion around what is no code, what does no code mean, and where it actually makes sense.

If I had to give a quick no code definition, I’d say: tools and platforms that let you build apps with no coding (or very little) by using visual interfaces, drag-and-drop components, and prebuilt logic blocks. In other words, no coding required for most of the work. That’s how most people explain what is no-code, at least at a high level.
But the no code meaning can be different depending on whether you’re a solo founder, a marketer, or a traditional dev.

You see terms like no code software development, no-code development, and no code development thrown around a lot. For me, what is no code development comes down to solving business problems without writing traditional code, even if in the background there is still a lot of code running. When people ask what is nocode or no codes meaning, they’re usually just trying to understand whether this is “real” development or just glorified form builders.

Then you have the role of the no code developer (or no-code developer, if you prefer the hyphen). So what is a no code developer in practice? To me, it’s someone who deeply understands the no code environment, business logic, and workflows, and can connect no code systems into something useful. They may need code occasionally for edge cases or integrations, but most of their job is wiring up nocode solutions. It’s less about syntax and more about architecture and problem solving.

On the enterprise side, things get even more interesting. There’s a whole category now around no code enterprise software and the fancy phrase no code enterprise application development platform. These are pitched as no code low code solutions or no code low code development tools that let big companies ship internal tools faster. I keep seeing marketing talk like “low code no code definition: empower your business users, free your IT team,” and so on. In theory, that sounds great. In practice, it depends a lot on governance and how much shadow IT you’re comfortable with.

People also ask how does no code work and what is no code software. Under the hood, most of these tools are just abstractions. A no code platform (or what is no code platform, if you’re Googling it) gives you visual building blocks: databases, workflows, APIs, UI components. You plug them together in a no code environment, and the platform turns it into a working app. That’s basically what a modern no code dev spends their time on — configuring, not compiling.

I’ve seen no code enterprise application development platform pitches where they claim no code needed for everything. Personally, I don’t fully buy the “never write code again” marketing. There’s always some integration, some weird edge case, some legacy system where you do need code, or at least someone who understands it. But for a huge percentage of CRUD apps, dashboards, and internal tools, no code systems or locode no code stacks can actually be enough.

There’s also a weird side effect of this whole no code movement: the language has become messy. You see people write no code code (which always makes me laugh), no code software development, adult to code (typo for “not to code”), and everything in between. The phrase not to code pops up in conversations like “I prefer not to code, I’d rather configure.” That’s basically what nocode is trying to offer: power to people who prefer logic over syntax.

From a cultural point of view, no-code has created a new type of builder. There are founders who can launch SaaS-style products with no code needed at the beginning, using nocode solutions for payments, authentication, and dashboards. Later, when they hit limitations, they might migrate to a more traditional stack. So no code development doesn’t kill classic dev; it often acts as a prototype phase before you hire a full team.

I’m personally somewhere in the middle. I don’t think no code systems will replace developers, but I do think a lot of repetitive work will move to no code platforms. Knowing what is a no code platform and when to use it is starting to feel like a core skill, even for traditional engineers. And being able to collaborate with a no code developer or no code dev can speed up experiments a lot.

Anyway, that’s my rambling. I’m curious how you all see it:

Do you use no-code or nocode tools in your workflow?

Have you shipped anything serious with no code software?

Where do you think the line is between “fun prototype” and “please don’t run production on this”?

What do you all think about no code and the whole no code movement?

[Author]

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