[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":760},["ShallowReactive",2],{"project-18166538":3},{"id":4,"name":5,"line":6,"line_source":7,"title":8,"url":9,"domain":10,"maker":11,"posted_at":12,"year":13,"points":14,"comments":15,"rank_in_year":16,"shown_in_year":17,"top":18,"tier":19,"category":20,"subcategory":21,"format":22,"keywords":23,"reception":28,"sentiment":29,"stance_mix":30,"scored_comments":35,"aspects":36,"strip":49,"post_text":52,"what":53,"said":115,"maker_in_thread":241,"shape":250,"grid":254,"attempts":723,"same_week":724,"maker_shows":18,"maker_hidden":752,"reader_version":753,"card":754},"18166538","Alan","a low-code application platform","title","Show HN: Alan – a low-code application platform","https:\u002F\u002Falan-platform.com\u002Fpages\u002Ftuts\u002Fintroducing.html","alan-platform.com","klageveen",1538999438,2018,413,173,39,2155,2,"legend","dev_tools","low-code application platform","other",[24,25,26,27],"low-code","model driven engineering","data modeling language","business applications","curious",-0.212,{"positive":31,"neutral":32,"mixed":33,"critical":34},10,62,5,31,108,{"docs":37,"design":39,"idea":42,"privacy":44,"execution":46,"performance":47,"pricing":48},{"positive":18,"critical":38},9,{"positive":40,"critical":41},1,12,{"positive":43,"critical":18},6,{"positive":45,"critical":18},0,{"positive":45,"critical":40},{"positive":45,"critical":40},{"positive":45,"critical":40},[50,18,40,40,40,50,18,50,18,51,33,50,33,40,50,40,40,33,18,50,40,40,40,50,40,33,50,18,50,18,40,50,50,50,33,50,50,40,50,40],3,4,null,{"problem":54,"audience":61,"pricing":70,"motivation":77,"time_to_build":52,"stack":84,"openness":112,"stage":113,"team_size":114},{"value":55,"source":56,"evidence":57},"Building data-centric business applications without writing imperative code","maker",[58],{"id":59,"by":11,"text":60},"18166563","Hi, Alan is a new approach to \"low code\" for the rapid development of data centric applications. I'm one of the developers of the platform. > Instead of the traditional…",{"value":62,"source":56,"evidence":63},"Citizen developers and businesses building data-centric applications",[64,67],{"id":65,"by":11,"text":66},"18167052","You could look at it like that. But because data modeling language underneath is so much more detailed and powerful, the default UI is also much more useful than what you get in…",{"id":68,"by":11,"text":69},"18167174","We're still feeling out the market here, to see where we can take it. It will probably stay free for personal use and then grow from there with services like hosting, etc.…",{"value":71,"source":56,"evidence":72},"Free for personal use; business pricing decided case by case",[73,74],{"id":68,"by":11,"text":69},{"id":75,"by":11,"text":76},"18167841","Good to hear the docs are clear for someone who hasn't been \"living it\" for years. I understand it's hard to put your trust into something Alan right now, so we're definitely…",{"value":78,"source":56,"evidence":79},"Make business software declarative and avoid traditional relational database plus 3GL\u002F4GL code",[80,81],{"id":59,"by":11,"text":60},{"id":82,"by":11,"text":83},"18167606","4GL solutions are one way to attack the problem of scaling and maintaining large applications. However, you tend to end up with a traditional code base and a relational database,…",[85,91,98,102,108],{"value":86,"source":56,"evidence":87},"C and C++ (in-house server, closed source)",[88],{"id":89,"by":11,"text":90},"18168128","Thanks for the feedback, this is exactly what we're looking for here. Perhaps some of this is \"how to launch a platform 101\", but we can't guess all the concerns everyone may…",{"value":92,"source":56,"evidence":93},"TypeScript",[94,95],{"id":89,"by":11,"text":90},{"id":96,"by":11,"text":97},"18167663","In your project, you write specifications. These are read by the runtime components (database, web client) and this specification fully defines their behavior. There is no…",{"value":99,"source":56,"evidence":100},"JavaScript",[101],{"id":89,"by":11,"text":90},{"value":103,"source":56,"evidence":104},"In-house graph database",[105],{"id":106,"by":11,"text":107},"18167130","Thanks for the feedback and kudos! Alan is definitely related to model driven engineering. It's a different take on what a model can specify, and models drive everything we do.…",{"value":109,"source":56,"evidence":110},"Custom Linux distribution",[111],{"id":106,"by":11,"text":107},"unknown","beta","company",{"praise":116,"objections":133,"requests":166,"questions":187,"alternatives":214},[117],{"value":118,"source":119,"evidence":120},"Declarative, model-driven approach to business software is promising","commenter",[121,125,129],{"id":122,"by":123,"text":124},"18168048","ccleve","I've long thought that this is the way applications should be built. 90% of what we do as app developers could be automated away. This looks really promising. That having been…",{"id":126,"by":127,"text":128},"18166950","elviejo","Some feedback: * \"low code\" is confusing When I started reading I thought low code, meant low \"level\" code, something like assembly or rust. After reading a lot in the page I saw…",{"id":130,"by":131,"text":132},"18167282","drostie","Hey Koen, congrats on you and Corno making front-page on HN! I can definitely confirm for others reading this that it indeed has been something like 10 years in the making; I was…",[134,146,150,158],{"value":135,"source":119,"evidence":136},"Documentation is lacking, especially for getting started and customization",[137,138,142],{"id":122,"by":123,"text":124},{"id":139,"by":140,"text":141},"18166974","WorkLifeBalance","How do you take this from here to the next step? Let's say I want to develop a multi user todo and I've followed the examples and now have some Users who log in entering a…",{"id":143,"by":144,"text":145},"18166643","hguhghuff","It should have a video showing the code the process and the sort of apps it builds. I’m not doing the tutorial. I’m sufficiently interested to give it a 30 second video. If that…",{"value":147,"source":119,"evidence":148},"Closed-source server and no way to escape to custom code",[149],{"id":122,"by":123,"text":124},{"value":151,"source":119,"evidence":152},"Setup via VirtualBox image is a barrier",[153,154],{"id":122,"by":123,"text":124},{"id":155,"by":156,"text":157},"18169052","jf-","Tutorial has some issues. “from_scratch.migration” should be “from_zero.migration”, and visiting server_ip:7584 gives an invalid address error. This is after downloading the…",{"value":159,"source":119,"evidence":160},"Name is confusing or generic",[161,165],{"id":162,"by":163,"text":164},"18166821","argimenes","An oKay name ...",{"id":126,"by":127,"text":128},[167,172,182],{"value":168,"source":119,"evidence":169},"Video walkthrough or demo of finished apps",[170,171],{"id":143,"by":144,"text":145},{"id":122,"by":123,"text":124},{"value":173,"source":119,"evidence":174},"Visual editor or UI builder",[175,179],{"id":176,"by":177,"text":178},"18168239","tyingq","\"Pretty apps isn't what you'd use Alan for\" Wouldn't a visual model bulder speed up the creation of all those declarative data models?",{"id":180,"by":11,"text":181},"18168407","It definitely could. However, written language is really powerful. We're still developing new features for the modeling language and keeping the cost of each iteration down is…",{"value":183,"source":119,"evidence":184},"Show the UI and source code of example apps",[185,186],{"id":122,"by":123,"text":124},{"id":126,"by":127,"text":128},[188,196,203,210],{"value":189,"source":119,"evidence":190},"How are business rules and state machines modeled?",[191,192],{"id":126,"by":127,"text":128},{"id":193,"by":194,"text":195},"18168889","platz","is this based on the concept of StateCharts?",{"value":197,"source":119,"evidence":198},"How to connect external APIs and systems?",[199,200],{"id":126,"by":127,"text":128},{"id":201,"by":11,"text":202},"18167788","Check this for an example: https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002FM-industries\u002FAlanProjectTemplate\u002Fblob\u002Fmaster\u002Finterfaces\u002Fexamples\u002Fapplication.alan#L116",{"value":204,"source":119,"evidence":205},"How to change the data model, e.g. hashing passwords?",[206,207],{"id":139,"by":140,"text":141},{"id":208,"by":11,"text":209},"18167191","Well, in this particular case passwords are always hashed. So the platform deals with that for you. Other changes to the data model need a migration, which is covered here:…",{"value":211,"source":119,"evidence":212},"In what language are custom functions written?",[213],{"id":122,"by":123,"text":124},[215,219,224,231,235],{"value":216,"source":56,"evidence":217},"Mendix",[218],{"id":68,"by":11,"text":69},{"value":220,"source":56,"evidence":221},"OutSystems",[222,223],{"id":68,"by":11,"text":69},{"id":65,"by":11,"text":66},{"value":225,"source":119,"evidence":226},"Microsoft Access",[227],{"id":228,"by":229,"text":230},"18166913","soneca","I am not sure I get it right, but is this supposed to be a modern MS Access? If it is, I think it is a very welcoming innovation. I believe there are a lot of use cases in…",{"value":232,"source":56,"evidence":233},"Excel",[234],{"id":68,"by":11,"text":69},{"value":236,"source":56,"evidence":237},"Power Apps",[238],{"id":239,"by":11,"text":240},"18167023","I guess you could compare it to the model driven Power Apps. However, Alan's modeling language is more powerful. Especially the concept of state groups that allows you to specify…",{"comments":242,"answered":243,"key":244},46,23,[245,246,247],{"id":89,"text":90},{"id":180,"text":181},{"id":248,"text":249},"18168944","Fair points. Honestly I think our default UI looks pretty rad and it’s super important to us. I think we need to do a Show HN at a later date to showcase it. There is so much to…",{"commenters":251,"max_depth":252,"maker_replies":242,"first_comment_mins":50,"lifespan_hours":253},90,7,80,[255,257,259,261,263,267,270,274,275,279,282,285,288,291,293,296,298,301,304,308,311,315,316,320,323,326,329,332,336,340,343,346,348,351,354,357,360,362,365,367,370,373,375,376,378,380,383,386,388,391,394,397,399,402,403,404,407,408,409,411,412,415,417,419,421,425,428,431,434,436,439,440,442,444,447,449,452,454,459,462,465,467,470,472,477,481,484,486,488,491,495,497,500,502,505,508,512,516,518,523,525,529,531,536,539,542,546,548,551,553,556,559,561,564,567,571,573,577,579,582,586,587,589,591,593,595,597,600,604,607,609,613,614,616,618,621,625,627,630,634,636,639,641,643,646,649,651,653,657,661,663,665,669,670,674,678,680,682,684,687,689,691,693,696,698,700,704,706,710,712,716,718,722],[122,45,50,256,123,45],"project\u002Fmixed\u002Fdocs",[89,45,45,258,11,40],"maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fdocs",[176,45,50,260,177,45],"project\u002Fneutral\u002Fdesign",[180,45,45,262,11,40],"maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fdesign",[264,45,50,265,266,45],"18168273","project\u002Fneutral\u002Fnone","TuringTest",[268,45,50,260,269,45],"18168593","d0m",[271,45,40,272,273,45],"18168843","project\u002Fcritical\u002Fdesign","maxsilver",[248,45,45,262,11,40],[276,45,45,277,278,45],"18171175","commenter\u002Fneutral\u002Fdesign","wlesieutre",[280,45,40,272,281,45],"18172623","core-questions",[283,45,45,284,281,45],"18172619","commenter\u002Fneutral\u002Fnone",[286,45,45,284,287,45],"18175234","sitkack",[289,45,40,272,290,45],"18168890","dmitriid",[292,45,45,262,11,40],"18168974",[294,45,50,260,295,45],"18169677","yuchi",[297,45,45,262,11,40],"18169868",[299,45,40,300,295,45],"18171138","project\u002Fcritical\u002Fnone",[302,45,40,272,303,45],"18170089","jaredklewis",[305,45,40,306,307,45],"18172484","maker\u002Fcritical\u002Fnone","WhitneyLand",[309,45,40,272,310,45],"18174083","IanCal",[312,45,33,313,314,45],"18168263","project\u002Fpositive\u002Fidea","cptaj",[126,40,50,256,127,45],[317,40,50,318,319,45],"18167020","project\u002Fneutral\u002Fdocs","codetrotter",[321,40,50,318,322,45],"18167088","okket",[324,40,50,318,325,45],"18167317","Serow225",[327,40,50,318,328,45],"18168164","poseid",[330,40,50,331,325,45],"18168454","project\u002Fneutral\u002Fidea",[333,40,40,334,335,45],"18167905","project\u002Fcritical\u002Fdocs","dyeje",[337,40,45,338,339,45],"18168690","other\u002Fneutral\u002Fnone","blobwalker",[341,40,50,265,342,45],"18170022","mprev",[344,40,50,318,345,45],"18177016","sam0x17",[106,40,45,347,11,40],"maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fnone",[349,40,50,318,350,45],"18167738","fouc",[352,40,50,258,353,45],"18168917","sctb",[355,40,40,334,356,45],"18170078","TickleSteve",[358,40,50,265,359,45],"18172265","danhorner",[361,40,50,318,345,45],"18177041",[363,18,50,260,364,45],"18166766","shakna",[366,18,45,262,11,40],"18166834",[368,18,33,369,364,45],"18166874","project\u002Fpositive\u002Fdesign",[371,18,50,318,372,45],"18167035","warpech",[374,18,40,334,290,45],"18168911",[130,50,33,313,131,45],[377,50,45,347,11,40],"18167402",[379,50,33,313,131,45],"18168200",[381,50,45,382,11,40],"18168520","maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fidea",[384,50,50,265,385,45],"18167937","mcintyre1994",[387,50,50,265,131,45],"18168305",[389,51,50,331,390,45],"18168682","pitay",[392,33,50,331,393,45],"18167197","polskibus",[395,33,50,331,396,45],"18167333","le-mark",[398,33,45,347,11,40],"18167523",[400,33,33,313,401,45],"18168092","andrewflnr",[82,33,45,382,11,40],[59,43,45,331,11,40],[405,43,50,331,406,45],"18196414","mpweiher",[228,252,50,331,229,45],[65,252,45,382,11,40],[139,410,40,334,140,45],8,[208,410,45,258,11,40],[413,410,50,414,140,45],"18167621","maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fprivacy",[416,410,45,258,11,40],"18167757",[418,410,50,414,140,45],"18168071",[420,410,45,414,11,40],"18168191",[422,410,40,423,424,45],"18173963","project\u002Fcritical\u002Fprivacy","TheOtherHobbes",[426,410,40,423,427,45],"18168129","CodesInChaos",[429,410,50,318,430,45],"18177368","byproxy",[432,410,50,331,433,45],"18167387","gcb0",[435,410,45,382,11,40],"18167424",[437,38,50,260,438,45],"18167641","nathan_f77",[155,31,40,334,156,45],[441,31,40,334,156,45],"18169368",[443,31,45,258,11,40],"18169566",[445,31,33,446,156,45],"18169661","maker\u002Fpositive\u002Fdocs",[448,31,45,258,11,40],"18169543",[450,31,50,451,156,45],"18169653","project\u002Fmixed\u002Fidea",[453,31,45,382,11,40],"18169727",[455,456,40,457,458,45],"18167866",11,"project\u002Fcritical\u002Fexecution","Aeolun",[460,456,45,461,11,40],"18167995","maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fexecution",[463,456,50,464,325,45],"18168488","project\u002Fneutral\u002Fexecution",[466,456,50,464,339,45],"18168728",[468,41,50,331,469,45],"18168705","yayr",[471,41,45,382,11,40],"18169485",[473,474,33,475,476,45],"18167608",13,"project\u002Fpositive\u002Fdocs","xivzgrev",[478,479,40,272,480,45],"18168990",14,"ilaksh",[482,479,50,260,483,45],"18170706","rvanderarend",[485,479,45,277,480,45],"18171521",[487,479,45,277,483,45],"18196298",[489,490,40,272,350,45],"18167827",15,[492,493,40,272,494,45],"18167780",16,"skybrian",[496,493,45,262,11,40],"18168139",[498,493,40,272,499,45],"18168385","workmandan",[501,493,40,272,325,45],"18168502",[503,493,50,260,504,45],"18172253","davewasthere",[506,493,50,260,507,45],"18183384","jraph",[509,510,45,338,511,45],"18175187",17,"avighnay",[513,514,50,318,515,45],"18167672",18,"peacetreefrog",[517,514,45,258,11,40],"18167956",[519,520,40,521,522,45],"18167745",19,"project\u002Fcritical\u002Fidea","hliyan",[524,520,45,382,11,40],"18167929",[526,527,50,331,528,45],"18168742",20,"randomThoughts9",[530,527,50,331,483,45],"18170730",[532,533,50,534,535,45],"18168787",21,"project\u002Fneutral\u002Fperformance","someguydave",[537,533,45,538,11,40],"18169104","maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fperformance",[540,533,40,541,535,45],"18170755","project\u002Fcritical\u002Fperformance",[543,544,40,521,545,45],"18166975",22,"leandrod",[547,544,45,382,11,40],"18167297",[549,544,50,331,550,45],"18167404","gnud",[552,544,45,331,11,40],"18167456",[554,544,33,313,555,45],"18172137","mvleeuwen",[557,243,50,331,558,45],"18168785","childintime",[560,243,45,382,11,40],"18168916",[562,243,50,331,563,45],"18173451","chenster",[565,243,50,331,566,45],"18186281","barryjb",[568,569,50,318,570,45],"18169056",24,"tlrobinson",[572,569,45,258,11,40],"18169139",[574,575,50,576,177,45],"18167048",25,"project\u002Fneutral\u002Fpricing",[68,575,45,578,11,40],"maker\u002Fneutral\u002Fpricing",[580,575,40,581,177,45],"18167542","project\u002Fcritical\u002Fpricing",[583,575,50,584,585,45],"18167681","project\u002Fmixed\u002Fpricing","servercobra",[75,575,45,578,11,40],[143,588,50,318,144,45],26,[590,588,45,258,11,40],"18166670",[592,588,50,258,144,45],"18166699",[594,588,45,284,229,45],"18166846",[596,588,45,284,458,45],"18167912",[598,588,50,258,599,45],"18167209","grblovrflowerrr",[601,602,40,334,603,45],"18182490",27,"bitmadness",[605,606,50,331,563,45],"18173460",28,[608,606,45,331,11,40],"18173739",[610,611,40,272,612,45],"18167522",29,"leowoo91",[201,611,45,318,11,40],[615,611,40,272,612,45],"18168168",[617,611,45,260,11,40],"18168326",[619,611,50,260,620,45],"18167887","iNate2000",[622,623,50,260,624,45],"18166892",30,"have_faith",[626,623,50,260,229,45],"18166926",[628,623,45,338,629,45],"18167198","copperx",[631,623,50,632,633,45],"18167323","project\u002Fmixed\u002Fdesign","a-nikolaev",[635,623,45,338,629,45],"18167800",[637,623,50,260,638,45],"18168319","gagege",[640,623,45,260,11,40],"18167325",[642,623,50,260,629,45],"18167697",[644,623,50,260,645,45],"18167472","tekknolagi",[647,34,50,265,648,45],"18167863","jameshart",[650,34,45,347,11,40],"18167934",[652,34,50,382,648,45],"18169758",[654,655,33,313,656,45],"18175331",32,"rajasekharjs",[658,659,45,338,660,45],"18167450",33,"skadamat",[662,659,45,338,11,40],"18167469",[664,659,45,338,570,45],"18167680",[666,667,50,260,668,45],"18167599",34,"yosefzeev",[96,667,45,260,11,40],[671,672,50,331,673,45],"18168727",35,"RomanPushkin",[675,676,45,338,677,45],"18168756",36,"balls187",[193,679,50,331,194,45],37,[681,679,45,331,11,40],"18169807",[162,683,45,338,163,45],38,[685,683,45,338,686,45],"18166831","inopinatus",[688,683,45,338,11,40],"18166844",[690,683,50,331,177,45],"18166949",[692,683,45,284,266,45],"18167055",[694,683,45,284,695,45],"18177135","kazinator",[697,16,40,300,356,45],"18170108",[699,16,45,284,695,45],"18176324",[701,702,33,703,656,45],"18175379",40,"project\u002Fpositive\u002Fnone",[705,702,45,347,11,40],"18175435",[707,708,40,334,709,45],"18166569",41,"ctz",[711,708,45,258,11,40],"18166585",[713,714,40,334,715,45],"18166567",42,"neppo",[717,714,45,258,11,40],"18166591",[719,720,50,331,721,45],"18166901",43,"sitepodmatt",[239,720,45,331,11,40],[],[725,730,734,739,743,748],{"id":726,"name":727,"points":728,"category":729},"18166753","aiortc",216,"languages",{"id":731,"name":732,"points":733,"category":20},"18154825","Markdown page",169,{"id":735,"name":736,"points":737,"category":738},"18154427","Trigonoparty",144,"learning_science",{"id":740,"name":741,"points":742,"category":20},"18183334","Percollate",123,{"id":744,"name":745,"points":746,"category":747},"18166090","Firebase2graphql",114,"infrastructure",{"id":749,"name":750,"points":751,"category":729},"18155262","Fork",58,false,"v2",{"id":755,"name":5,"line":6,"ai":752,"cat":20,"year":13,"points":14,"comments":15,"rec":28,"s":756,"top":18,"kw":757,"maker":11,"domain":10,"tier":19,"attempts":45,"strip":758,"url":9,"mix":759,"praise":118,"objection":135,"sub":21},18166538,-0.21,[24,25,26,27],"3211132324535131152311131532321333533131",[31,32,33,34],1793990980474]