Abstract
Low code development environments are gaining attention due to their potential as a development paradigm for very large scale adoption in the future IT. In this paper, we propose a method to extend the (application) Domain Specific Languages supported by two low code development environments based on formal models, namely DIME (native Java) and Pyro (native Python), to include functionalities hosted on heterogeneous technologies and platforms. For this we follow the analogy of micro services. After this integration, both environments can leverage the communication with pre-existing remote RESTful and enterprise systems’ services, in our case Amazon Web Services (AWS) (but this can be easily generalized to other cloud platforms). Developers can this way utilize within DIME and Pyro the potential of sophisticated services, potentially the entire Python and AWS ecosystems, as libraries of drag and drop components in their model driven, low-code style. The new DSLs are made available in DIME and Pyro as collections of implemented SIBs and blocks. Due to the specific capabilities and checks underlying the DIME and Pyro platforms, the individual DSL functionalities are automatically validated for semantic and syntactical errors in both environments.
Highlights
Low code development platforms enable their users to design and develop applications with minimal coding knowledge [1], with the support of drag-and-drop visual interfaces that operate on representations of code as encapsulated code wrappers
We showed it by integrating preexisting remote RESTful services and cloud-based enterprise system services as new drag and drop components in the respective Domain Specific Languages (DSLs)
In DIME, an offline low-code IME, we used the native library mechanism, with signature declaration, linked Java backend code, and the code is merged with the logic layer at compile time
Summary
Low code development platforms enable their users to design and develop applications with minimal coding knowledge [1], with the support of drag-and-drop visual interfaces that operate on representations of code as encapsulated code wrappers. The main aim [2] of these platforms is to produce flexible, cost effective and rapid applications in a model driven way. They are adaptive to enhancements and less complex is terms of maintenance. The main challenges with traditional software development approaches are the complexity in development at large scale, the maintenance over time, and the adaptation to dynamic requirements and upgrades [1]. Doing this on source code is costly, and it systematically excludes the application domain experts.
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