Transferring Low Code Benefits Into The IBM i
September 22, 2021 Eugene King
As with fashion, there are trends in the IT industry and history tends to repeat itself in several exciting ways. Development languages come into fashion, run their course, and then become obsolete. Then, they may be revamped with the addition of new criteria and frameworks. IBM i development also follows these same trends.
The low-code movement is not new but another iteration on traditional programming. Let’s do a brief history review.
At first, computer programming involved specific machine code associated with a particular processor architecture. Eventually, the language was slightly abstracted to facilitate second-generation assembler code, which was partially portable across architectures.
The third-generation programming languages, also called 3GLs, included BASIC, COBOL, Fortran, C, C++, C#, Pascal, and RPG. The degree of abstraction in the languages increased and made the code more portable. This greater portability led to more accessible application development.
The Impact of the Web on Low-Code
The widespread adoption of the web in the mid-90s represented a paradigm shift. The web immediately increased the possible IT use cases. New web technologies have steadily increased in sophistication and meant that developers would need to improve their skill sets and adequate tooling was required to face the new era.
Unfortunately, web development involves working with several interdependent programming languages to achieve what a single programming language could have completed in half the time.
Low-Code Programming Tools
Recent years have led to a rise in new tools that leverage low-code and sophisticated web technologies to solve the complex requirements of modern application development. Low-code helps you create your applications module by module. You code in just one programming language without having to know a myriad of other languages. This flexibility works well as long as you can make the necessary applications with the functionality offered by the low-code option.
However, if you want to develop a specific feature and the functionality is missing in the low-code platform, you will have to get messy with JavaScript, HTML5, CSS, Java, .NET, etc., therefore, losing all the advantages of low-code.
How LANSA Can Help
To avoid the problems cited above, LANSA’s toolset makes use of a hybrid low-code approach, allowing developers to code all the functionality without leaving the platform. LANSA is the ideal union of low-code and conventional development. This combination helps you create apps quickly within the LANSA environment. Even if you want to build functionality using other lower-level programming languages, you can do so in LANSA. This distinction is what makes this tool special. Furthermore, several ideas within the low-code environment are revised and reimagined to generate relevant apps.
What do you need to know to leverage the benefits of LANSA? The good news is that all you require is Visual LANSA – there’s no need to concern yourself with any lower-level requirements because it’s resolved in the tool. Also, you don’t have to worry about the client-side or server-side dimensions of the applications. LANSA handles it all!
You will also have access to a library standard objects (or reusable parts) and the ability to drag and drop them onto the forms. Since all these resources are in a centralized repository, maintenance is relatively easy. Because everything is defined in one location if you change it once, then the change is made in all other locations as needed. LANSA decreases your maintenance load by as much as 90 percent in many cases. This is a significant advantage that more than counters the challenges of learning a new declarative language and learning a new tool.
More Benefits of LANSA
LANSA’s repository approach to app development started in 1986 with the organization’s innovative work in Colgate-Palmolive, Australia. At that time, the company sought to increase development speed and lessen the ongoing application maintenance.
LANSA’s repository was searchable and included many repeated elements. These were items such as validation rules, a routine or method, code snippets, etc. Therefore, if anyone wants to adjust, for example, an app’s field size, they can do a quick search. This search will show how the application’s stack will be affected.
Using a low-code tool and its templates is very helpful in quickly developing applications. However, the question is how to maintain and expand that low-code app? What if you need to go outside the tool and use JavaScript, HTML5, or another language? What if you need to extend your app in some manner that’s unsupported in a low-code setting? How will you track changes made within the tool and those made outside it?
LANSA’s hybrid low-code environment is tested by a multitude of companies and programmers worldwide. Everything is held in a single location so you can make changes as needed. You never have to access the lower-level code with LANSA – that’s our job! We ensure that everything is done efficiently on the platforms that run the code. You just need to focus on making changes to the app, pushing all changes to live, and moving on to your next project.
LANSA Is Your Choice For Hybrid Low Code
Low code will eventually need to transition to our hybrid approach or risk going out of fashion. LANSA is far ahead in the hybrid low-code environment, and it integrates well with apps in your IBM i server. Contact us to discuss how LANSA can best serve your needs.
Eugene King is a technical consultant at LANSA, where he has worked for the past 24 years.
This content is sponsored by LANSA.
RELATED STORIES
Visual LANSA Customers Can Now ‘Portalize’ Their Apps
Idera Bolsters Visual LANSA 15
LANSA Revs Low-Code, UI Modernization Tools
LANSA Bought By Software Conglomerate Idera
Visual LANSA Goes Low-Code With High Tech Update
LANSA Shows Off Responsive Design Capabilities
LANSA Adds jQuery to Visual LANSA
I can give you 75,000 reasons why you shouldn’t.
75,000 reasons?
Each one is apparently a dollar. HA!