3 App Development Shortcuts for Beginners
As an experienced computer programmer knows writing program code can be both time-consuming and tedious. Fortunately, nowadays some shortcuts can be used to solve these problems. There are many mobile app development tools that are handy not only for increasing productivity but are helpful for beginners as well. (Image source: Pexels)
1. Reusable and Customizable Modules of Code
Reusable and customizable modules are segments of code that can be reused and easily adapted to specific apps. These customizable sections of code are designed to perform specific tasks but can be adjusted for the needs of a new app. This approach requires some coding but not as much as making a program from scratch.
Most programmers do this already to some degree. In fact, most programming languages consist of functions and commands that are basically doing this at the machine language level. Also, most programming languages allow the programmer to write custom functions and commands that are used repeatedly throughout the program and can also be saved for use in future programs.
Sometimes, customizing these modules require coding, and other times they involve other forms of input like would be found with a function or command. In either case, this approach usually requires some direct coding of the modules. The exact amount of coding is going to vary with the environments being used. However, this approach is still much faster than writing an app from scratch because it reduces the coding to only what is necessary to adapt the module to the particular application.
2. Low-Code and No-Code Tools
Low-code and no-code tools are programming tools that rely mainly on graphical interfaces to do the customization necessary to make a unique app. There are many web app development tools that fall under this category. Such development tools are very helpful for beginners because it allows them to develop apps quickly while having to learn little or no code. Development tools that use graphical interfaces are highly efficient ways of producing apps and you can usually learn them quickly enough to produce your first application the same day even if it is not the best equality.
The main difference between low and no code is that low code requires writing some code. However, that makes the low coating scenario the more powerful of the two because graphical interfaces do have their limits. Furthermore, these limits can be overcome by writing code. Because of this even development tools that are intended to be no code usually have the option of including code in your application. They are simply designed to be able to write an entire application without using any code. Having the option of using or not using code is what makes these excellent tools for beginners.
3. App Templates
Templates are another useful tool for creating an application quickly. Furthermore, they are particularly good for beginners. With templates, most of the work is already done for the particular type of application that you are trying to make. As a result, all that is necessary is to customize the details for your particular application. In many cases, this requires no code. In fact, you can often turn the raw template into a functioning application without doing much of anything. Templates are a particularly handy tool for making customized versions of common types of apps.
One of the great things about using templates is that most of the work is already done, and this saves you a lot of time in your own part of the development process. The downside to templates is the fact that they are based on certain existing types of applications meaning that they are not helpful if you want to do something in usual. However, in most cases, if you are a beginner, any application you are trying to make will probably be a type that is sufficiently common that finding the proper template will not be a problem.
If you are learning to develop mobile apps then finding helpful shortcuts will not only make it easier to learn, but it will also make the entire process easier. The key to any kind of shortcut in programming is reducing the amount of actual code writing that you need to do. This makes the process more efficient.
