This document discusses the relationship between low-code development and model-driven engineering (MDE). It notes that low-code is essentially a style of model-driven development focused on specific application types using a fixed language. While low-code tools have improved, the core concepts of modeling and code generation from models have existed in MDE research since the 1980s. The document argues low-code is worth studying from social and economic perspectives but does not present significant new technical challenges for MDE research. However, low-code popularity could help bring modeling expertise to new domains and communities. Researchers should monitor no-code tools which may evolve low-code further.

1. Low-code vs Model-Driven
Engineering
Jordi Cabot
@softmodeling – jordicabot.com October 2020
LATEST VERSION ALWAYS AT: https://modeling-languages.com/low-code-vs-model-driven/

2. What this talk is NOT
about

4. Research Questions

5. Is there anything fundamentally new behind the
low-code movement?
How does it relate to other concepts like MDD or
MDD?
What are the implications for researchers in the
modeling community?

6. A little bit of perspective

7. Low-code application platforms accelerate app
delivery by dramatically reducing the amount of
hand-coding required – Forrester Report

8. He was already
saying this in
1985

9. "Given the final model, the complete computerized
information system can be automatically
generated“
"we arrive at a specification from which
executable code can be automatically generated"
Already topics at CAiSE’91

10. • Grady Booch – history of softwre engineering
The entire history of software engineering is that of
the rise in levels of abstraction
- Grady Booch

11. Clarifying concepts

12. No formal
definitions

13. https://modeling-languages.com/clarifying-concepts-mbe-vs-mde-vs-mdd-vs-mda/

14. Low-code is a “style” of MDD
• Focused on specific types of applications
• Where the language is typically fixed and closed
No-code is more configuration/plugging
• Not really a more extreme version of low-code
as it is often assumed

15. Research on low-code

16. Low-code is worth studying from many
perspectives
• Social, economical, marketing…
I just don’t see what is technically new
• Let’s not create a research bubble nor reinvent the wheel.
• I wouldn’t like to see basically repetitions of Models papers
from previous years just changing the keywords MDE,MDD,…
with “low-code”

17. Plenty of research
challenges for MDE
(and therefore low-
code as well) available
already
Bucchiarone, Cabot,
Paige, Pierantonio:
Grand challenges in
model-driven
engineering: an
analysis of the state of
the research. Sosym
19(1): 5-13 (2020)

18. Low-code as an
opportunity

19. Low-code is trending

20. Low-code is trending because
• Much clearer message: Everybody understands that low-code
means “less coding”. MDD is much more confusing
• Sounds familiar, as the marketing msg is still focus on the code
• Simpler pipeline, no transformation chains, one-shot modeling.
• Low-code tools are better
And remember success of a MDD project depends on
social and managerial aspects more than tech
• But we don’t want to give the wrong idea that development is easy

21. Low-code is a huge opportunity to bring
modeling (and our modeling expertise) to new
domains, markets and communities
Once we hook them up, we can introduce other
MDE layers

23. Keep an eye on no-code

24. Low-code is dead, long live multi-experience
development

25. jordi.cabot@icrea.cat
@softmodeling
modeling-languages.com