What is Low-Code/No-Code (LCNC)？Exploring The Development Infrastructure in Web3

Introduction

In daily work scenarios, many companies and organizations hire professional developers for software, website, and application development. A complete program often requires coordination between multiple roles such as frontend, backend, and design, and the cost of human resources is a significant factor to consider. For small and medium-sized enterprises, hiring developers or outsourcing software developers can be expensive. Even in large companies, the different understandings and coding habits of individuals often require extensive cross-department coordination in software development.

With the increasing demand for technology, more and more people are creating their own websites, personal pages, and internet products. However, software development can be challenging, and many computer science graduates are unable to independently complete advanced product development even after four years of professional study. In industries like Web3, which rely on new technologies, there is a particularly high demand for development talent. As a result, a market has emerged for products that lower the learning and development barriers, known as low-code/no-code platforms. The main idea behind these products is to simplify the software creation process by offering pre-built components and visual interfaces.

What is LCNC development?

Both low-code development and no-code development utilize visual programming platforms. The difference lies in the fact that low-code development still involves a small amount of code, whereas no-code development focuses on fully visual programming without any code operations. Consequently, no-code development can be seen as a subset of low-code development, and these two development categories are often combined and referred to as LCNC (Low-Code No-Code) development.

The term “low-code” was coined by Forrester in 2014, but rapid application development (RAD) by IBM had already emerged in 1980. By 2000, visual programming had further advanced, and companies began to shift their focus to this field. For instance, the well-known low-code company OutSystems was founded in 2001, while another LCNC (low-code/no-code) company, FileMaker, was established in 1985. In 2018, Gartner introduced the concepts of aPaaS (application platform as a service) and iPaaS (integration platform as a service), further solidifying the market.

Currently, enterprises in both Web2 and Web3 offer various LCNC solutions. The commonality among them is that they enable developers to create web and mobile applications using easy-to-understand visual tools such as graphical user interfaces (GUI), drag-and-drop components, and model-driven logic.

Low-code development platform Blocks has a graphical user interface (source: Blocks Official Website)

In the Web3 field, smart contracts such as NFTs and Tokens are easily abstracted and can be used as development modules due to the composability of blockchain. Additionally, there is a high demand for Web3 developers, and many projects often involve simple repetitive tasks, eliminating the need to hire a large number of skilled professionals. For such projects, opting for the LCNC platform for development is a cost-effective choice.

Why do we need the LCNC Platform?

The well-known software infrastructure service provider Alibaba Cloud once compared the advantages and disadvantages of low-code, no-code, and pure code (using code only) in multiple aspects:

Table source: https://developer.aliyun.com/article/788091

Overall, LCNC is more suitable for technical personnel without a programming background and with some basic development knowledge. It is easy to get started and operates quickly. However, it also has obvious disadvantages, such as not being able to meet personalized development needs and having poor scalability in the later stages.

Why is LCNC needed in Web3?

LCNC development brings many benefits to Web3 applications:

• Lowering the technical barrier: Web3 technology is relatively new, and there is a scarcity of professional developers. The LCNC platform allows non-professional developers or individuals with basic programming skills to participate in application development, thus expanding the range of participants.
• Accelerating innovation and deployment: The LCNC platform enables faster development and iteration of applications, which is crucial in the rapidly changing and highly competitive Web3 world.
• Reducing costs: Traditional Web3 application development typically requires costly professional development resources. LCNC can reduce these costs as they require less custom coding work.
• Flexibility and scalability: With changing business requirements, the LCNC platform can quickly adjust and expand functionality without the need to rewrite underlying code.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration: By enabling non-developers to directly participate in the construction and management of applications, the LCNC platform facilitates collaboration among interdisciplinary teams, which is particularly important in building Web3 applications closely related to user needs.
• Integration with existing systems: LCNC platforms often provide integration with existing systems and technologies, allowing businesses to transition to Web3 technology more seamlessly.
• Popularizing Web3 education: By simplifying the development process, the LCNC platform can serve as an educational tool, helping new users understand and participate in Web3 projects.
• Continuation of the decentralized spirit: Web3 advocates decentralization and community participation, and the LCNC platform embodies this spirit by enabling more people to create and contribute code.
• Experimentation and prototyping: LCNC allows developers and businesses to quickly build and test new concepts or models, which is crucial for validating the feasibility of Web3 projects in the early stages.
• Support for complexity management: As the Web3 ecosystem matures, the LCNC platform can help manage the increasing complexity, especially in areas such as smart contracts and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Overall, within the context of Web3, LCNC simplifies and accelerates the development process, reduces barriers to participation, and expands the range of participants. This ultimately contributes to the innovation and mass-adoption of Web3 technology.

Case Study of LCNC in Web3

There are also many LCNC development platforms in Web3. Some are native Web3 products, such as Bunzz, Thirdweb, Blocks, and other products. There are also Web2 products that provide Web3 LCNC services, such as Directual.

Thirdweb

Thirdweb has developed a comprehensive set of development tools, including pre-built and audited smart contracts and SDKs, to help developers easily build and deploy their Web3 projects. Additionally, Thirdweb offers a comprehensive UI component library and identity authentication solution, allowing frontend developers to seamlessly create exceptional user experiences on top of their smart contracts. Once the smart contracts are deployed, Thirdweb’s dashboard and analysis tools are ready to ensure developers can track and monitor the activities and performance of their on-chain smart contracts in real-time.

Visiting the official website of Thirdweb, you can see the rich product ecosystem they provide. Their products include wallets, contracts, payments, infrastructure, and engines as developer components. In each category, they also offer multiple solutions. For example, in the Infrastructure section, they provide file storage functionality, Gateway file download functionality, and RPC solutions.

The rich product ecosystem has made it very popular among developers. According to the official Thirdweb Blog, there are currently over 70K developers using Thirweb to build their own applications, which is astonishing in the Web3 realm.

According to Rootdata’s report, in 2022, Thirdweb completed a strategic funding round of $24 million, valuing the company at $160 million. Investors include Haun Ventures, Protocol Labs, Coinbase Ventures, Polygon Labs, Shopify, and other prominent Web2 and Web3 venture capitalists and enterprises.

Bunzz

Bunzz is a development platform for building DApps, where developers can easily connect the front-end to the blockchain using the SDK. According to the official website, developers have already deployed over 8,500+ contracts using Bunzz. The platform supports 100+ blockchains and has more than 40 modules.

Source: https://www.bunzz.dev/

The core of Bunzz is its “Smart Contract Center.” Bunzz abstracts common Web3 contracts into modules, which users can easily add by clicking. As shown in the image below, after entering the project name and selecting the target blockchain for deployment, users can choose from prepared templates or Bunzz components. After selecting, they can set the parameters, and finally click “Deploy” to complete the deployment of the smart contract on-chain, by paying the corresponding Gas Fee (on-chain transaction fee).

Source: Bunzz

Blocks

Blocks is an open-source, free, drag-and-drop visual smart contract editor built on The Internet Computer, currently in the Beta phase.

Before getting started, users need to spend 5 minutes browsing through their short tutorial. Once on the editor page, users can click on the toolbox to start creating smart contracts. During the usage, users can customize the editor to fit their workflow by changing the theme or using the learning mode to view detailed tooltips. After completing parameter design and editing, users can click on Deploy to deploy the contract. As shown in the image below, Blocks provides DIP721 NFT and DIP20 Token designs, where users can simply click to create panels. Taking DIP721 NFT as an example, users only need to modify [NFT name] and [NFT symbol], and the code will be automatically generated. Users can then click Deploy to complete the deployment.

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Source: https://blocks-editor.github.io/blocks/

Directual

Directual is a low-code development platform that offers a variety of tools and visual methods for users to develop high-quality web products and web3 products with minimal coding. Currently, it has served over 17K+ enterprise and corporate clients. It can be used for:

• Developing MVPs (Minimum Viable Products)
• Establishing and growing a startup company
• Creating critical enterprise IT systems
• Building web3 applications (DApp) using blockchain plugins

Source: Directual Homepage

Directual is a typical Web3 low-code tool that is venturing into the Web3 space. Its main services are suitable for Web2 product development. In the process of Web3 development, Directual mainly provides solutions for decentralized identity verification, encrypted payments, NFT management, and more. The Directual interface is shown in the image below and appears to have a more complex UI compared to the three products mentioned earlier. In actual programming, developers need to have a good grasp of fundamental knowledge such as databases, JS, and JSON.

Source: https://my.directual.com/platform/apps/

Industry Outlook and Challenges

In the field of Web3, LCNC technology has shown great potential and prospects. It enables rapid prototyping and innovation of decentralized applications by reducing technical barriers while accelerating the education and adoption of decentralized technologies. LCNC also encourages broader community participation in the development of Web3 projects, thereby enhancing community engagement and innovation capabilities.

However, there are also significant challenges associated with Web3 technology. These challenges include the complexity of the Web3 technology stack, such as smart contract development and maintenance. Key security issues, particularly when dealing with financial assets, are also a concern. Additionally, there are limitations in performance and scalability. LCNC must also address dependencies on vendors, the need for compliance and governance, and the protection of data privacy and control in the context of Web3.

The LCNC industry also offers immense prospects, as these technologies are driving digital transformation, offering rapid and cost-effective enterprise IT solutions, and supporting globalization and remote work trends. Technological advancements, such as the integration of AI, suggest that LCNC platforms will become increasingly intelligent and user-friendly.

The main challenges include ensuring the security and compliance of the platform, integrating with existing complex systems, and managing technical debt and governance issues that arise as business users participate in development. In addition, the adaptation of the developer community, market education, limitations on customization features, and the risk of vendor lock-in are also important challenges the industry faces. However, with the ongoing development and improvement of technology, it is anticipated that these challenges will be gradually overcome. This will enable the LCNC industry to expand and mature in the future.

Conclusion

Overall, LCNC not only reduces the programming burden as an innovative rapid application development approach in the Web2 world but also brings new vitality to the development of decentralized technologies at the forefront of Web3 through its simplified and accelerated development process. The LCNC platform empowers non-professional developers with its ease of use and flexibility, enabling them to participate in this technological revolution and promote inclusive growth and community-driven innovation.

Despite facing challenges such as technical complexity, security, and scalability, these obstacles can be turned into catalysts for industry advancement as technology progresses and the ecosystem continues to mature. Looking ahead, LCNC technology is expected to continue to simplify the development process, lower entry barriers, expand the range of participants and accelerate digital transformation, promoting innovation and mass adoption of Web3 technologies.