Mark Lucking
2 min readApr 3, 2022

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Ben, I have coding for 40 years--and as far back as I can remember companies have been offering zero-code platforms. 1987 Apple Hypercard comes to mind, they didn't take off then and I don't share your enthusiasm for them taking off today either.

Learning to code isn't about the syntax, the semantics or logic. It is about learning to think about problems in an abstract sense. That is why kids need to learn to code, not be become programmers, but to become problem solvers.

As a young man I was advised to go into marketing too, advice I didn't take; I am not a marketing guy. Advice you did it seems. The rational for doing so was that as products mature, they all end up looking the same. Go buy a new windows laptop and you'll start to appreciate what I am talking about. You'll find Toshiba, Lenovo, Hewlett Packard, Sony, Samsung whatever they all look the same.

In fact the only difference sometimes is the marketing, Sony are more reliable than Toshiba, Lenovo's last longer than Samsungs... marketing claims that frequently have absolutely no basis in truth.

Why do I mention this, because that is problem with zero code platforms. They can help you produce your own latptop, no problem. The problem will be that it is the same as the laptop John built down the road, the same as the one Sam built. The same as the one Chen built.

And if your solution doesn't stand out in the crowd, than the chance you're going to sell more of them than John, Sam or Chen built is going to come down to marketing, and if you're using a zero code platform to do that too......

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Mark Lucking
Mark Lucking

Written by Mark Lucking

Coding for 35+ years, enjoying using and learning Swift/iOS development. Writer @ Better Programming, @The StartUp, @Mac O’Clock, Level Up Coding & More

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