I keep hearing the terms low-code and no-code for development environments. I've always written code in full fledged C# environments, so this UiPath Studio UI is a bit strange to me.
Is UiPath Studio categorized as a 'no-code' development environment? A 'low-code' development environment is another term I've heard.
What categorization does UiPath fall into?
I hope this isn't considered an opinion based question
You can take the official UiPath Studio websites keywords:
UiPath Studio gives everyone from business users to advanced
developers the right automation canvas to build great software robots
—and organizations the right governance tools to manage it all.
What you have noticed was StudioX, but that is especially designed for process owners. I don't think that you really want to use that with some C# knowledge already.
Basically it gives you the possibility of no-code indeed. But that depends on what you need to achieve and how no-code is defined. Is coding starting with defining some semi-complex variables already? I would say no, but beginners might say yes, as this paradigm is not existing in a real world.
At the end it is a good mix of both. You need a control flow all the time on long processes. So you e.g. need to know how to use if-statements and that variable type checks are working different on each type. Also, if you go further and having a complex issue that can only be solved with invoking code or creating custom activities, you really need to code. Or you are lucky and find someone else's code on Go! or Connect. :)
And even further UiPath Studio is just one tool of many. What you can say is that UiPath Studio is never getting a high-level tool for specialists. It's designed for lazy RPA beginners and a little further. And that's good if you ask me.
What constitutes low-code or no-code is certainly up for debate. But UiPath themselves certainly advertise products they consider to be low-code and no-code.
UiPath StudioX
UiPath StudioX is advertised as being 'low-code.'
With StudioX, process owners like you get a no-code tool to build automations. With no-code drag-and-drop construction, a friendly interface, and pre-designed templates and scenarios, you could launch a robot on your lunch hour. StudioX Product Page
UiPath Apps
UiPath Apps is advertised as being low-code:
UiPath Apps includes a low-code app builder called App Studio. It lets you build visually appealing professional apps quickly using only a web browser through a rich library of drag and drop controls. Apps Platform Product Page
UiPath Studio
So where does UiPath Studio fit in? I'd say Studio certainly allows you to create UiPath robots with a low code approach. It's certainly not 'no-code' as even with loops and if statements you still need to add in some code like statements for the various conditions. And the ability to invoke a full fledged piece of code you've written certainly eliminates the ability to call it 'no-code.'
I think 'low-code' is a fairly accurate description of UiPath Studio.
Related
I have been searching for UI prototype tools which requires little/no coding, along with decent UI features. In one project, I would like to be able to implement a drop down list which the user picks a choice, which can affect the list of choices shown by another drop down list. Mind me, I am fairly new to UI/UX design and web design. And no, I would not like to use HTML due to its inflexibility and it being difficult to modify/extend. Any suggestion of good UI tools, whether be it free or paid?
Probably should try using Microsoft Visual Studio Community or Enterprise. Community is the minimum but Enterprise has much greater number of benefits. Then, get the web development workload in order to use ASP.NET to develop the type of form you intend to get.
I am using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UITesting to hand-code automated tests for a Silverlight web application. I am running into an inconsistent failure problem, and I need to understand what visual studio is doing when it runs a test.
Where can I find detailed technical information on the testing framework/engine in Visual Studio? Or to state more specifically, I am looking for information on what is going on 'behind the scenes' when I run a test.
Since you didn't specify any specific information that you are looking for, I'll link you to a couple of "portal" pages that I tend to have good luck with when searching for Coded UI information.
The first one is here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mathew_aniyan/archive/2009/12/10/content-index-for-coded-ui-test.aspx, it's also got some links to some blogs of Microsoft employees who specialize in the Coded UI testing framework.
The second one is a bit smaller, but the links are a bit more organized: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd286726(VS.100).aspx.
I hope you find something useful on one of these.
I would like to build a web interface for an app I build for a client. The app itself is made with Access for the front-end, and SQL Server for the database.
The idea is to allow them to check the stock of an item, or see the orders of a client using a laptop or even a smartphone, while on the road.
I have a basic experience with html and CSS, since I made a few simple sites.
My question is: would webmatrix be a good choice for that job ?
Since I master VBA and SQL quite well, and the client is a MS environment anyway, I thought webmatrix could be an easy path for that project.
Any feedback appreciated. Other suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
We have a very similar environment. We have a legacy application developed in Microsoft Access running against SQL Server 2005. Initially we developed a single page website using WebMatrix that had some key data displayed on it. Over time, it's grown to having maybe 30 pages, with both employees and customers logging in to it. It's my plan to gradually replace the Access application completely with a WebMatrix application.
Generally, the WebMatrix development enviromnent is quite competent for simple pages and I like its lightweight quick-to-boot easy-to-use approach. On some of the more complicated pages that use c# classes, I will switch to Visual Studio.
Since you have some experience with HTML and CSS, then I think the razor syntax that WebMatrix uses is a natural progression. If your only language experience has been vba, you might have some challenge using c# or perhaps vb.net. I would recommend c# as being more of an standard.
Good luck!
We are in the process of implementing the sharepoint application, we would like to know the the pros and cons of SharePoint workflow versus Windows workflow.
Workflows in SharePoint are implemented using the Windows Workflow Foundation, so they are not that different, but there still are some things to be aware of regarding that implementation.
SharePoint is a Windows Workflow host, so you don't have to implement your own host which is fine if you agree with the decisions made by the SharePoint team:
Workflow instances are persisted in the content database
Communication with the user is through SharePoint tasks
Every workflow instance is tied to a list/library item
Tracking is not implemented
If these choices are to your liking then by all means use the SharePoint workflows.
If not then implement your own host and make your own decisions.
They are the same thing. The current Windows Workflow Engine was created for SharePoint.
Now it should be noted, that the Workflow engine is going to be overhauled with the release of .Net 4.0. I don't know the specifics, but I've been told the differences are significant. I woudld assume this is going to be used in Sharepoint 2010, but I don't have any information on that.
Here is a link describing the upgrade in 4.0.
You haven’t specified whether you’re building a custom coded application in SharePoint or configuring an out of the box solution via the browser. Either way, here are a few options for workflows in SharePoint.
Use the native workflows built into SharePoint and readily accessible from any list. They’re very basic (mostly simple approvals with one or two steps), but they’ll get you up and running very quickly and it can all be done via the browser.
Use SharePoint Designer to build slightly more complex workflows. This will give you access to conditional logic (i.e. route a workflow based on a list value) and unlimited steps and well as a number of other features that allow you to introduce more logic into the process. The downside is you have to work with SharePoint Designer which, to be frank, can be a real pain.
Custom code your workflows in WF. Windows Workflow underlies the first two options which are essentially abstractions on top of the underlying framework. The main difference with this approach is that you’re not limited to the functions that the browser or SPD surface. The downside is that this becomes a more complex process (although admittedly the workflows will likely be more complex) and you have to go through the rigmarole of coding against SharePoint, packaging deployments, publishing, etc.
I find the best balance in terms of ease of development and functionality is to try and work through the above list in the order I provided them and only progress to the next option if you definitely can’t implement the requirement with the current point.
It's basically the same technology. If you know one you can easily work with / switch to the other.
When you add the SharePoint dll to your solution you get some specific SharePoint 'activities' that you can use in your workflow. (create task, ...)
Your SharePoint Server will act as a host for your workflows.
The best way to deploy a workflow in SharePoint is by using a SharePoint feature. This tells SharePoint what dll (assemblies) to use and which (input) pages to show.
As input pages you can use simple .net aspx pages or infopath forms. Both require some trial and error to get the hang of it.
SharePoint simply uses windows workflow Foundation (WF) as its workflow engine. WF in itself is just a generic workflow engine.
In order to use WF you must implement a host process for the execution of workflows, and configure it so it persists instances to database etc (these days most people use a WCF service as a workflow host, see here or here).
SharePoint comes with everything already configured and implements its own workflow host, so you can start using workflows out of the box. Apart from that, it comes with custom activities and other goodies specific to SharePoint.
As stated in other answers, they are the same, as they use the Windows WOrkflow Foundation. That being said, there is a major thing to keep in mind when it comes to Workflows created through SharePOint Designer: They are not "portable" out of the box, meaning that you can create one bound to list a, then save the list as a template and then create another list based on that template, the workflow will NOT work (you have rebind it as it is still referencing the original list's id (guid).
Present:
The product development is done in Visual Studio at the moment using .Net technologies, so it's important to stay in the same set of tools. Roles apart from developers are using spreadsheets, docs and diagramming tools, photoshop to do their work.
Future:
We want to build a workflow (a sequential process with roles, queues for action items, passing on info from one role to the other, approval etc) for a product development. The software product will be in enhancement stage forever, more the reason to establish this flow.
Typical users are designers, business analysts, content creators, developers, code reviewers, testers.
Let's say a new webpage needs to be developed. It will be,
thought about by the analyst in the
tool, will enter the information in
some format
a designer will use drag and drop to
build the page look, pass it over to
the
content creator, who will add
content(help text, hyperlinks, pure
text etc) to the page
a developer will check his queue to start
building logic around this page and
make it functional.
I am thinking about Visual Studio Isolated shell to be used as a tool framework mainly due to it's IDE capabilities et al, to build this. Has anyone worked on a similar set of requirements? Any patterns/solutions/ideas around how to go about this in the VS Shell paradigm?
Update: Visual Studio Team System is already being used by the developers and testers, but there is no customized workflow for them (& analysts, designers etc) available in TFS. Also Visual Studio is not the place for non-dev users that want to do things like, - define navigation flow, design the page elements etc.
Sounds exactly like Microsoft Visual Studio Team System.
I think there is a market for this product as I could not find anything close. There are disparate tools and products but no unified IDE like experience available and needs to be built on our own.
VS Isolated Shell 2010 is the starting point and platform on which this can be built. Needs several man months and may be years. However TFS ALM application lifecycle management has several overlaps of features with this idea, although not all, because it doesn't provide a customized experience per your custom workflow.
Jury is out, needs figuring out.