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(I work at Retool, and Patrick is an investor.) > Will end-user applications ever be truly programmable? If so, how? I think that most end-user applications n
by dvdhsu 8y ago
(I work at Retool, and Patrick is an investor.)
> Will end-user applications ever be truly programmable? If so, how?
I think that most end-user applications now have APIs that allow you to manipulate the data. For example, Salesforce, Lever, Excel, etc. all have APIs for reading and writing data. Allowing end users to build custom UIs on top of those APIs seems like a simpler problem.
Retool (https://tryretool.com https://tryretool.com) is a fast way of building UIs on top of data. And so if there are APIs for reading and writing data from “end-user applications”, Retool lets you build custom UIs and workflows on top of them quickly.
I think this is an interesting problem, and I’m not sure what the right solution is. If anybody else has ideas, feel free to email me — I’d love to learn! I’m david@. :)
- barrkel 8y agoTotal cost of ownership for malleable software is higher than for something you pay someone else to specialize in modifying, and businesses have gradually learned this. They increasingly realize that software shouldn't be their core business, especially if it's applicable to more than just their own industry. So this is just the normal tinkering -> specialization dynamic seen in most new technologies.
- throwawaybbqed 8y agoNot everything useful has APIs. The most frustrating example in my life is WhatsApp. It is positively horrible. On IOS? Only way to backup your chats is iCloud. On Android .. only backup option is google drive. On an ipad without a cell phone (low income seniors who cannot afford cell plans) .. go away. It is sad and messed up how much of a locked in kingdom we have in software today. It has NEVER been this bad.