Comparison of application development in LowCode platform and classical programming

Introduction: comparison of Low-Code and classical programming

According to Gartner, using the Low-Code platform brings 70-90% savings in time and money compared to traditional development. The positive effect of engaging the Low-Code platform lies not only in the cost comparison itself, but also in a completely different approach to application development and a different life cycle. Conventional development using programming languages implies a coherent assignment and handover of work between the client and the programmer. On the other hand, application development on the Low-Code platform better supports iterative development with the ability to use the application immediately.

For more information on the benefits of Low-Code platforms according to Gartner, see Mendix and Gartner【13†source】.

Assignment: what the application will look like

The task tracking application, called “Task Tracker”, will contain two main tables: Tasks and Employees.

Table Tasks

• Subject: simple text field
• Description: extended text field
• Status: drop-down list with options (New, Active, Finished, Cancelled)
• Deadline by: date
• Responsible person: list of users from the table Employees

Employees table

• Name: simple text field
• Login: simple text field of type email

Application for keeping track of tasks in C#

Requirements

• .NET Core or .NET Framework
• Visual Studio or other IDE supporting C#

Structure

• Console Application
• Entity Framework for the database layer

Code

1. Create a Task model: csharp public class Task { public int Id { get; set; } public string Title { get; set; } public string Description { get; set; } public string Status { get; set; } public DateTime DueDate { get; set; } public int ResponsibleEmployeeId { get; set; } public Employee ResponsibleEmployee { get; set; } }

2. Create an Employee model: “csharp public class Employee { public int Id { get; set; } public string Name { get; set; } public string Email { get; set; } }

“`

1. Create a database context:

“`csharp using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore;

public class TaskContext : DbContext { public DbSet Tasks { get; set; } public DbSet Employees { get; set; }

protected override void OnConfiguring(DbContextOptionsBuilder optionsBuilder) { optionsBuilder.UseSqlite(“Data Source=tasks.db”); } } “

1. Main program:

“`csharp using System; using System.Linq;

class Program { static void Main(string[] args) { using (var db = new TaskContext()) { db.Database.EnsureCreated();

// Add a new employee Console.WriteLine(“Adding a new employee”); var employee = new Employee { Name = “John Doe”, Email = “[email protected]” }; db.Employees.Add(employee); db.SaveChanges();

// Add new task Console.WriteLine(“Adding a new task”); db.Tasks.Add(new Task { Title = “Test Task”, Description = “This is a test task”, Status = “New”, DueDate = DateTime.Now.AddDays(1), ResponsibleEmployeeId = employee.Id }); db.SaveChanges();

// List all tasks Console.WriteLine(“Listing all tasks:”); var tasks = db.Tasks.Include(t => t.ResponsibleEmployee).ToList(); foreach (var task in tasks) { Console.WriteLine($”- {task.Title} (Due: {task.DueDate}, Responsible: {task.ResponsibleEmployee.Name})”); } } } } }

Estimated time and effort

• Setting up the environment: 1 hour
• Implementing models and database context: 2-3 hours
• Implementing basic functionality (CRUD operations): 2-4 hours
• Testing and debugging: 1-2 hours

Total: approximately 6-10 hours

Using Tabidoo

Tabidoo is a no-code platform that allows you to quickly create applications without writing code. Below is a brief description of how to create a task logging application using Tabidoo:

Step 1: Register and Login

• Register at Tabidoo and login to your account.

Step 2: Create a new application

• Click on “Create new application”.

Step 3: Define the data structure

• Add a new table called “Tasks”.

• Add columns for each task attribute:

• Subject (simple text field)

• Description (extended text field)

• Status (drop-down list with options New, Active, Done, Cancelled)

• Due by (date)

• Responsible person (link to Employees table)

• Add a new table called “Employees”.

• Name (simple text field)

• Login (simple text field of email type)

Step 4: Create and configure records

• Use the visual interface Tabidoo to add, edit and delete tasks and employees.

Estimated time and effort

• Registration and login: 10 minutes
• Create application and define data structure: 20-30 minutes
• Create and configure records: 10-20 minutes

Total: approximately 40-60 minutes

Conclusion

Using C#:

• Requires programming skills and environment setup.
• Provides great flexibility and control over the application.
• Requires approximately 6-10 hours of work.

Using Tabidoo:

• No-code solution, does not require programming skills.
• Quickly create an application with a visual interface.
• Requires approximately 40-60 minutes of work.

Using Tabidoo is significantly faster and simpler for basic task-recording applications, while C# provides greater customization and extensibility for more complex scenarios.