In Defense

• openscad-graph-editor

  29 161 8.1 C#

  OpenSCAD Graph Editor

I'd really like to see someone get this right, but the problem is we don't seem to know the answer and are asking the wrong question:

>What does an algorithm look like?

Flowcharting and diagramming pre-date computers and used to be popular ways to define software workflows --- why hasn't that directly translated into coding?

The Drakon Editor folks short-circuit this with the idea that the desirable option is always straight down --- is that a viable solution?

The Node Editor folks have solutions which some folks use, but there are also sites filled with literal visual spaghetti code:

https://scriptsofanotherdimension.tumblr.com/

It's been the better part of a century since Herman Hesse wrote _The Glass Bead Game_, but the most flexible systems still end up as a wall of text, which can be hard to format, or which one limits to plain text --- all-too few programmers avail themselves of:

http://literateprogramming.com/

One promising development is Nintendo's _Game Builder's Garage_:

https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/game-builder-garage-...

(which when I gifted it to a co-worker's son was described as "This is the greatest game ever!")

These days I mostly do 3D, so have been using BlocksCAD:

https://www.blockscad3d.com/community/users/67750#/?_k=7br97...

and OpenSCAD Graph Editor:

https://github.com/derkork/openscad-graph-editor

I'd love to see a similar tool for making a GUI program.

• saltcorn

  9 1,487 9.7 JavaScript

  Free and open source no-code application builder

  

That was a good read - liked the balance, and agree with his description of the ideal product, which is very close to mine.

I'd add the option of commercial hosting and support to that list, which led me to Budibase - great product, although in the end I was left feeling "no code - but so many clicks!", although I have not gone back to look at v2. https://budibase.com/

The author might care to take a look at Saltcorn, which is in the "Goldilocks" zone for me - enough of everything, not too much of anything. I should write that up myself. https://saltcorn.com/

• SurveyJS

  surveyjs.io sponsored

  Open-Source JSON Form Builder to Create Dynamic Forms Right in Your App. With SurveyJS form UI libraries, you can build and style forms in a fully-integrated drag & drop form builder, render them in your JS app, and store form submission data in any backend, inc. PHP, ASP.NET Core, and Node.js.

  

• budibase

  332 20,664 10.0 TypeScript

  Budibase is an open-source low code platform that helps you build internal tools in minutes 🚀

  

That was a good read - liked the balance, and agree with his description of the ideal product, which is very close to mine.

I'd add the option of commercial hosting and support to that list, which led me to Budibase - great product, although in the end I was left feeling "no code - but so many clicks!", although I have not gone back to look at v2. https://budibase.com/

The author might care to take a look at Saltcorn, which is in the "Goldilocks" zone for me - enough of everything, not too much of anything. I should write that up myself. https://saltcorn.com/

• liveinterface

  2 3 1.4

  experiments with living documents

Hi Will,

I am interested in this space. I wrote something I called living documents which is a GUI for composing together behaviours.

There are screenshots here:

https://github.com/samsquire/liveinterface

The idea was that you could create a data model and widgets as easy as embedding them in a document.

Suggest a related project