Everyone's a Coder Now

I started my career as a front-end web developer. I built websites. I put real estate listings online decades before Zillow ever existed. It took a lot of trial and error. I taught myself by learning online.

Today, there’s never been a better time to learn how to code. In fact, in many cases, you don’t even need to write a single line of code. Increasingly, there are methods where you can simply explain what you want to build, and the code is written for you. This sort of reminds me of when Adobe Dreamweaver came around. You could design a website visually and then chop it up in Dreamweaver, and it would spit out code for you. The code was messy, didn’t follow most rules of how you’d do it from scratch. Coders with any self-respect would thumb their noses at it. But it worked, mostly.

That’s where no-code is at today. It works, mostly.

The platform I’ve found most interesting for building apps without coding is Replit. The reason I think it’s so powerful is that it has all the pieces you’d want together. It handles your hosting, your deployment and while it will let you tell the AI what you want to build, it still gives you direct access to the code to tweak it in a format that’s pretty much the same interface as a normal IDE (for non-coders and IDE is an integrated development environment, which essentially is a tool to write, debug and deploy code) so you get all the benefits of no-code but with the flexibility of digging into the code.

Where is this all heading? What if it actually gets good? When anyone can build anything they dream up, what will that lead to? It’s both exhilarating and frightening.

It's exhilarating because it democratizes the ability to create. It puts the power of building software into the hands of anyone with an idea. No longer will you need to spend years learning to code or pay a hefty sum to hire developers. You can just dive in and start making things happen.

But it's also a bit frightening because, well, what happens when anyone can build anything? Will we be inundated with a flood of half-baked apps and websites? Will the signal-to-noise ratio become even more skewed than it already is? These are valid concerns.

Even more worrisome, though, is the potential for harm. When the barriers to creating software are removed, it's not just the good guys who gain new powers. Those with malicious intent can also exploit these tools. We could see a rise in scams, malware, and applications designed to mislead or manipulate users. Just as fake news has become a scourge of the open internet, we may face a similar onslaught of "fake apps."

There are also risks around data privacy and security. If people are building apps without a deep understanding of how to protect user data, we could see more breaches and leaks. Novice developers may not be aware of best practices around encryption, authentication, and secure data storage.

These are serious issues that we'll need to grapple with as no-code platforms become more powerful and accessible. We'll need robust systems for vetting and monitoring these applications. Platforms like Replit will need to take on greater responsibility for the apps hosted on their service. And we'll need to double down on digital literacy efforts to help users navigate this new landscape safely.

However, despite these challenges, I still choose to focus on the positive. I believe that the benefits of democratizing software creation outweigh the risks. We can't let fear of misuse prevent us from exploring the incredible potential of these new tools.

Moreover, I think this trend will actually elevate the role of professional developers. When everyone can code at a basic level, true coding expertise will become even more valuable. We'll need skilled developers not just to push the boundaries of what's possible, but also to help build the guardrails and safety measures needed in this new world.

Some predict that lowering the barriers will lead to less development careers, I don't think developers are going away anytime soon. If anything, their skills will be more in demand than ever to help harness and guide this new wave of citizen developers.

I'm cautiously optimistic about where this all leads. It will be challenging and at times chaotic. But I also believe it will lead to incredible innovation and creativity. And that's a future I'm eager to help shape.