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How do you compare yourself against other "low code" platforms in the 4GL landscape? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth-generation_programming_language#Low_c

How do you compare yourself against other "low code" platforms in the 4GL landscape? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth-generation_programming_language#Low_code_development_platforms[9][10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth-generation_programming_...

le-mark 8y ago
I would also like to see this comparison. Another thing is; HN is really the wrong audience for this. Technologists here will spin up a vm/container with their stack of choice. Indeed; ruby and rails, django, node, all fill the void 4GLs did decades ago. Finding and reaching users for this type of tool is the challenge imo. Implementation is the easy part.
- klageveen 8y ago
  We anticipated that HN wouldn't be a perfect fit, but it's a critical audience and usually open to something new. It needs to become more mature before mass adoption amongst citizen developers and exposure to the developer community is one way to make some steps in that direction.
- andrewflnr 8y ago
  I dunno. This is exactly the kind of thing I come here for. Even if I never use it myself, it's an idea I've thought about myself, so it's good to see someone else made it.
klageveen 8y ago
4GL solutions are one way to attack the problem of scaling and maintaining large applications. However, you tend to end up with a traditional code base and a relational database, without a strong core specification. Especially once you start customizing an application like that, you run into the same problems as a 3GL stack. Alan plays a longer game, with a drastically different approach to specification and development of applications of any level of complexity. Models drive everything and you can't look "under the hood" to look at or modify the implementation. Even at the level of the platform itself, models and code generation drive down the amount of 3GL code we have to deal with. WYSIWYG editors and drag-and-drop UI builders aren't a starting point, it's something we might grow towards supporting in the future.

le-mark 8y ago

I would also like to see this comparison. Another thing is; HN is really the wrong audience for this. Technologists here will spin up a vm/container with their stack of choice. Indeed; ruby and rails, django, node, all fill the void 4GLs did decades ago. Finding and reaching users for this type of tool is the challenge imo. Implementation is the easy part.

klageveen 8y ago
We anticipated that HN wouldn't be a perfect fit, but it's a critical audience and usually open to something new. It needs to become more mature before mass adoption amongst citizen developers and exposure to the developer community is one way to make some steps in that direction.
andrewflnr 8y ago
I dunno. This is exactly the kind of thing I come here for. Even if I never use it myself, it's an idea I've thought about myself, so it's good to see someone else made it.

klageveen 8y ago

4GL solutions are one way to attack the problem of scaling and maintaining large applications. However, you tend to end up with a traditional code base and a relational database, without a strong core specification. Especially once you start customizing an application like that, you run into the same problems as a 3GL stack. Alan plays a longer game, with a drastically different approach to specification and development of applications of any level of complexity. Models drive everything and you can't look "under the hood" to look at or modify the implementation. Even at the level of the platform itself, models and code generation drive down the amount of 3GL code we have to deal with. WYSIWYG editors and drag-and-drop UI builders aren't a starting point, it's something we might grow towards supporting in the future.