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The case for pro-code development

Published: 2025-08-11T04:15:14Z

Categories: Software development

Reasons to favor pro-code

  • Developer has more control over the quality of what's produced.
  • Developer has more insight into what's happening under the hood.
  • Developer won't have to re-invent the wheel
    • Can make use of code contributions of others that are in some cases worth upwards of millions of dollars.
  • Developer can be more productive
    • Won't have to navigate a clunky visual interface.
  • Developer can make use of professional tooling.
  • Developer can better optimize the performance.
  • Development shouldn't be "democratized" - it's better to have role specialization. The less complex development tools are in order to empower non-developers, the more limited the capabilities of this tool will be. As a result of this, problems with the software solution can't be fixed or a lot of workarounds for what's not possible are needed - Solutions become inelegant and more technical debt is introduced. Then the odds are that domain experts will at some point need professional developers due to issues faced during the development process, which take up time from their own responsibilities, resulting in professional developers being brought in to work on the project and having to work with sub-optimal tools which underutilize their skills.
  • Project is not subject to vendor lock-in. This means costs aren't subject to change based on pricing strategies of an external business.

Reasons organizations still might prefer low-code development

  • Want a proof-of-concept, automation of a process, or a non-critical, simple application such as a questionnaire app and it's possible to have a "quick win" without making a large investment in the time of professional developers.