Low-code may not be the most sophisticated of development techniques, but it can often fit the bill for software teams looking to build microservices applications.
To deliver business value and stay ahead of the market, an organization must adapt to new technology strategies. However, doing so can prove difficult for organizations that still work with traditional development methodologies.
Low-code platforms can help tackle this challenge by enabling streamlined development workflows and automated application deployment processes. This can be especially helpful when working with modular, microservices-based applications that traditionally require higher levels of development expertise and infrastructure support. And while low-code won't always be a fit for distributed systems, there are certainly some scenarios where it can be an ideal approach.
Let's review how low-code microservices can help organizations, as well as some of the challenges that can arise when applying low-code to microservices development.
What is low-code?
Low-code is an application development style that facilitates faster delivery of applications through a simplified, often graphics-based interface. In most cases, novice developers and even business-side users can build both internal and external applications with minimal programming knowledge.
A typical low-code development platform contains the following components:
The graphics-based interface found within most low-code platforms helps automate many aspects of application design, stripping away reliance on conventional design teams and front-end development tools. Often these interfaces provide a quick way to redesign an application's UI for different types of end users or to add new features.
Benefits of low-code microservices
Microservices adoption can relieve developers of the constraints of old technology stacks and monolithic architectures. In the right situation, low-code microservices can amplify some of these benefits.
Low-code will bring the most benefit to microservices-based development when the application is simple and secure, and only has a few major integration points. These benefits include the following:
Challenges of low-code microservices
Bear in mind that a low-code approach toward building microservices is not a good choice for large-scale, microservices-based systems that encompass complex business processes, especially when many development teams are involved.
These are some of the downsides that limit its usability for these types of applications:
Use cases of low-code microservices
Here are some of the typical use cases of low-code development:
