In the context of software engineering, Code Printing refers to:

The transformation of requirements into code by an algorithm

Code Printing is a broad term to cover a range of offerings, examples include:

No Code approaches such as mail merge and simple code patterns
Low Code approaches which provide more complex patterns which can be extended through exits
Enterprise Low Code approaches which enable enterprises to deliver their in-house code patterns using a Low Code approach

This is a different paradigm to traditional programming, which is based on:

The transformation of requirements into code by a person

You see, traditional software engineering is focused on micro-delivery, so essentially:

Hand crafted delivery of individual code artefacts

You can think of it as:

A sequential process of delivering one program or change after another

And similar to hand crafted techniques in furniture making, tool making or manufacturing, each artefact has it's own idiosyncrasies associated with the craftsperson and that particular construction effort.

How does Code Printing work?

Code Printing is analogous to the capability a 3-D printer provides in the physical realm.

A 3-D printer can deliver any structure you need based on design meta-data, each instance of which may be configured slightly differently from the last. So there is a focus on the meta-data and its transformation directly into a predictable target structure.

Code Printing does this for code artefacts, but because there are no physical constraints on the artefacts printed, the complexity is limited only by:

The fidelity of the design template
Support in the code pattern

And of course, a code artefact can evolve rapidly – without wasting any physical material.

The key difference with a hand crafted approach is that the construction process is both very rapid and completely deterministic - every artefact will be delivered 100% consistently against its design, without idiosyncrasies or alternate implementations.

So like 3-D printing and CAD-CAM manufacturing it is particularly suited as an approach to large scale production against high precision requirements.

"Why would anyone implement Code Printing?"

I hear you, why put additional effort into writing an algorithm to print code rather than just writing the code yourself?

I'm sure you would be familiar with Low Code and No Code (Codeless) platforms. Code Printing is exactly what they do!

These platforms have large user bases, so their transformation algorithms are used a lot! That's how they can deliver like magic - and how they can keep improving your work without you having to make any changes.

So why do they refer to No Code if they are printing code? Because their code patterns are proprietary - the code they print only works within their platforms, so you don't need to see it.

And of course if you ever want to change your platform you can't take that code with you, you will have to start again.

So you are left with No Code.

Low Code / No Code as an Enterprise delivery option

Enterprises have many examples of their own internal code patterns. For example, an initial interface, pipeline, microservice or report may lead to 20 or 50 variations based on a similar theme.

And for any enterprise, software delivery is all about speed, consistency and scale.

So when a modern enterprise has a family of modules with similar requirements they try to focus on macro-delivery:

Rapid, consistent delivery of easily maintained code which can readily evolve.

Pattern based delivery is a key macro-delivery enabling strategy implemented by enterprises.

But it's something the best software engineers are not typically good at - talented engineers want to keep improving solutions or solving new problems, not continually solving the same problem the same way!

View all articles

Low Code

How does Code Printing work?

"Why would anyone implement Code Printing?"

Low Code / No Code as an Enterprise delivery option

Related Articles

Enterprise Low Code vs Traditional Software Delivery

Why has In-house Low Code now become feasible for an enterprise?

No Code vs Low Code: What's the Difference?