Low-code and no-code: What’s the difference?

By See all articles from the author: Erik Skarstein Sandnes
3. July 2020

  • Low-code for application development and delivery (AD&D) professionals, and
  • Low-code for citizen developers – often referred to as “no-code”

  • Focus on ease of application development
  • Targets simpler applications for smaller groups of users, often competing with solutions based on spreadsheets
  • Are often front-end focused with limited capabilities for back-end development
  • Focus on single-purpose apps for business departments rather than becoming an integrated part of the enterprise IT architecture

Is it possible to be confused by the naming of these two directions? Yes! The truth is that there are no-code platforms that require some level of coding, whereas some low-code platforms are completely codeless. Further, some no-code platforms rely on code generators to produce the running applications, whereas some low-code platforms rely entirely on metadata interpretation.

  • Focus on functional completeness, advanced features, and scalable architectures
  • Targets core enterprise-wide applications and complex application scenarios
  • Offer full-stack visual development
  • Must have enterprise-grade capabilities (security, scalability, performance, governance, etc.)
  • Offer superior integration capabilities
  • Deliver a platform for enterprise application development rather than single-purpose applications

Is it possible to be confused by the naming of these two directions? Yes! The truth is that there are no-code platforms that require some level of coding, whereas some low-code platforms are completely codeless. Further, some no-code platforms rely on code generators to produce the running applications, whereas some low-code platforms rely entirely on metadata interpretation.

  • Focus on functional completeness, advanced features, and scalable architectures
  • Targets core enterprise-wide applications and complex application scenarios
  • Offer full-stack visual development
  • Must have enterprise-grade capabilities (security, scalability, performance, governance, etc.)
  • Offer superior integration capabilities
  • Deliver a platform for enterprise application development rather than single-purpose applications

Hei dette er en test.

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Erik Skarstein Sandnes

Erik Skarstein Sandnes is Lead Technical Solution Architect at Genus. He leads a group of Solution Architects, helping customers and partners successfully utilize the power of the Genus low-code platform.