Lots of code vs low-code
vs
I was recently talking with a friend about Mendix, specifically about the benefits of model-driven development and how easy it is to build applications through modeling instead of writing code. Being a hard core programmer, he was quite skeptical of the capabilities of model-driven development and my claim that new features can be implemented within minutes, not days or weeks.
When he didn’t believe me, I showed him data from external parties who have studied and reviewed the Mendix App Platform. Both Capgemini and Quantitative Software Management (QSM) have evaluated the platform. In the most recent evaluation, QSM analyzed application delivery speed in Mendix versus traditional development methods, and found that Mendix delivers a 6x productivity advantage.
Unfortunately, my friend was still skeptical, having never used the platform himself. We decided to challenge each other to a friendly race. What we found was awesome and I had to share.
The Challenge
We wanted to create something that would be quick to program in Java and allow us to compare notes – something simple that would not take hours to develop. We decided to build a BMI calculator and had another person time us and judge how we developed the application.
While my friend was writing and declaring his values at the beginning of the code (i.e. float height = 0 etc.), I was defining them on the Domain Modeler. What that means is that I was building the underlying variables and data structure.
In this example, we are calculating the BMI for a person. Therefore, we will have a PatientInfo Or Person entity and attributes to track the BMI information. We want to enter the patient weight, height, measurement type (such as kg versus lbs) and for this simple example, we’ll add the calculated BMI value within the same entity.