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Ask HN: Which NoCode platforms are fine?

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Re: Ask HN: Which NoCode platforms are fine?

#81

Post by jacquesm »

jinen83 wrote: post #44

NoCode platforms can be further divided into sub category of tools. Depending on your need you got to look at using one or multiple tools. 1) BPM tools: build workflows & business processes. Tools like Appian, Pega, kissflow, etc 2) Form builders: jotform, typeform, etc 3) automation: Zapier, integromat, etc 4) Frontend builder - Consumer apps -> bubble, adalo, etc - Internal apps -> Retool, DronaHQ, Appsmith 5) App…

I'd add Betty Blocks to the app builder section; and add a category for electronics laboratory automation and add 'Labview' for that category, there are many others as well.

Re: Ask HN: Which NoCode platforms are fine?

#82

Post by Aeolun »

tmcneal wrote: post #73
rectang wrote: post #68

I would say "none of the No Code platforms I've seen are fine", because all the ones I'm familiar with have either inadequate testing or no testing at all. The problem is that apps built without testing don't scale past a certain level of complexity — and so complex projects built with No Code tend to fall apart as they become successful. It's not that it can't be done, but that there's probably very little demand fo…

We're a no-code platform for testing, if that counts. :) Should work pretty well for testing applications built with no-code tools since the same person who builds the app can also write tests for it. Would love to get your feedback if you do try us: https://reflect.run/

15 hours per month for $300? I run a combined 120h/day on AWS for less.

Maybe it makes sense for some, and if people pay you for it then that’s great, but to me I cannot see the economics of that ever working out.

Re: Ask HN: Which NoCode platforms are fine?

#83

Post by omarhaneef »

For me, the high order bit in this context is: is it open source?

The last thing I want from my tool — even my excellent, robust tool — is lock in.

If they raise the price, do I have options?

If they go out of business, do I have options?

If the platform needs debugging, do I have options?

Re: Ask HN: Which NoCode platforms are fine?

#84

Post by Aeolun »

akudha wrote: post #47

I like appsmith for internal apps. Tried budibase and retool, but feel appsmith is better. They are also ridiculously responsive on discord - fixing bugs, giving advice etc. Not affiliated with any of them.

I like that getting appsmith running is just one docker command away.

I don’t like their weird syntax around writing code, {{}} everywhere!

Re: Ask HN: Which NoCode platforms are fine?

#85

Post by [deleted] »

itsArtur wrote: post #18

I have used Retool to create a (well-received) PoC of an internal-facing admin app. I was pretty impressed, even though it had some rough edges. Setting up UIs was relatively painless thanks to many out-of-the-box integrations, and it was surprisingly easy to implement auth/error handling/component dependencies. The thing I liked the most is that it's not really a "no code" - you need to be technical to build good ap…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Which NoCode platforms are fine?

#86

Post by Aeolun »

harmonycb wrote: post #35

https://www.harmonycb.com/ - it's currently used to build the whole UI for a number of startups where the backend/business logic is behind restful endpoints

‘See what harmonycb can do’ leads me to a bunch of text with stock pictures. Maybe it would be better if it actually shows me what it can do.

Re: Ask HN: Which NoCode platforms are fine?

#87

Post by tmcneal »

rectang wrote: post #80
tmcneal wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're a no-code platform for testing, if that counts. :) Should work pretty well for testing applications built with no-code tools since the same person who builds the app can also write tests for it. Would love to get your feedback if you do try us: https://reflect.run/

I just watched your 6-minute intro video and I love it. It's not what I asked for (it won't help me write tests for the Keap campaign builder, oy), but it fills a different, sorely felt need: showing non-technical people how automated tests are constructed . I can point to this video to say, "this is what I'm doing when I'm writing tests", and I think at least some of them will understand the value proposition. The m…

Wow, thank you!

Re: Ask HN: Which NoCode platforms are fine?

#88

Post by tmcneal »

Aeolun wrote: post #82
tmcneal wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're a no-code platform for testing, if that counts. :) Should work pretty well for testing applications built with no-code tools since the same person who builds the app can also write tests for it. Would love to get your feedback if you do try us: https://reflect.run/

15 hours per month for $300? I run a combined 120h/day on AWS for less. Maybe it makes sense for some, and if people pay you for it then that’s great, but to me I cannot see the economics of that ever working out.

That's fair - if you compare us to raw compute we are going to be well over an order of magnitude more expensive, even with the volume discounts we offer at our "contact us for pricing" tier.

Usually when folks are considering us, they're comparing us to the other alternatives which generally are either (1) have folks on staff do each regression test pass manually, (2) hire additional devs/automation engineers to build a code-based automation suite, or (3) have existing developers spend part of their time building and maintaining a code-based automation suite. When you look at the cost of those alternatives we tend to be pretty competitive.

Where we're not a good fit pricing-wise is when someone wants to run very simple tests at a high volume, like running synthetic testing / monitoring scenarios in production, or for load testing.

Re: Ask HN: Which NoCode platforms are fine?

#90

Post by winternett »

robador wrote: post #42

Drupal. I've been a Drupal developer for 15 years and started using it for it's low code abilities. In my opinion it still is an amazing low code platform which is extremely versatile. If you really need to customize, it's all there under the hood to hook into, override and extend.

I was waiting for someone to mention this as I scrolled from the top to bottom... I have been implementing Drupal consistently since v4.0 and despite it's increasing footprint, I haven't seen anything it really can't do as a CMS and web app platform.

No code on Drupal isn't exactly pretty, it requires a lot of CSS work to look good, but out of the box it's reliable and quite secure and robust. I've also implemented it in some of the most secure settings without problems over years. The ke to stability is scanning code prior to deployment for outbound requests, not building/adding what isn't needed or used, applying updates on time, and designing and maintaining a secure architecture (zero trust if data value warrants it).

I have built a lot of cool and mission critical things and sites with Drupal, and I'm very thankful for finding it years ago. v7.X is still my fave, the modules were so much more thought out and available for it, and still are. One of the best aspects of building with it is that the community never really turned into a money factory for modules like Wordpress did. As far as downsides, the hardest thing is debating other developers on why it should be used over other frameworks or instead of a custom app without burning up valuable project time. As a testament to Drupal's reach, it's implemented on many key web sites to this day, all you have to do is google it.

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