We recently got to meet with our local Mendix rep and had a chance to learn about their visual-development IDE for creating applications in a low-code environment. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you should. Their product allows companies with limited technical resources to develop professional applications without needing to know every programming language out there. It also allows companies with lots of technical resources to quickly create apps when time is limited. I love the idea that we could produce great content and leave our full-stack developers to focus on more technical tasks.
Being a bit of a Maker myself, I wanted to give it a try. I went on their website, created a free account, and started going through their tutorials for creating an app. The first tutorial guides you through creating an event management application in their IDE, which is perfect for us because KAASM likes to throw a good party. I was able to figure out the user interface, build the app customized to a fictional KAASM event (KAASM Con 2020), and preview it on desktop and mobile devices.
Overall, I love the idea that with a relatively small amount of training, you can create a fully functioning application that would provide a real benefit to your company. I do see the need for a professional developer for more complex applications, but Mendix fills a gap that our industry needs.
To learn more about Mendix you can visit them @ https://www.mendix.com/