Remote Quiz: Bubble Builds a Quiz App

If you haven't heard of it, Remote Quiz is a rapidly growing social learning platform where educators can create real-time quizzes and games for K-12 students. When Jerry Hsiang, the company's owner, acquired Remote Quiz he wanted to expand the business and make it one of the leading social learning sites on the Internet. To do that he needed an extremely flexible quiz app.

Both teachers and parents needed to be able to easily create quizzes by selecting a template and adding their own images, questions, and answers. Then the completed quizzes could be shared remotely on Zoom or Google Hangout. The problem was how to build the app so it could do everything Hsiang wanted and still be easy to modify and enhance.

Hsiang had recently discovered Bubble's no-code development platform and was impressed with the variety of things you can do with Bubble and how easy it was to use. After doing a little experimenting he built the app that forms the basis of the Remote Quiz platform. 

Users can join the platform for free and create their quiz or game by modifying one of the available templates or by using their own content. Users can also see the score of each learner at the end of the quiz, which allows them to adjust the content to focus on areas needing improvement.

If you're interested to see what this Bubble app looks like, you can find more details on Remote Quiz at remotequiz.app. 

Zapier Acquires Makerpad

Zapier, one of the top providers of application integration tools has acquired Makerpad, a major no-code learning community. The purchase gives Zapier 400 employees and an annual revenue of over $100 million dollars according to CEO Wade Foster. However, Foster states that Makerpad will continue to operate largely independently, offering advice to no-code developers including ways that Zapier can help them expand their apps by connecting to the web applications they use everyday.

In case you're not familiar with Zapier, it provides tools to allow you to link together the different web applications you use so you can easily pass data between them. For example, you can integrate apps like Gmail, Slack, Mailchimp, and others in order to automate repetitive tasks you need to carry out, without having to code an interface yourself or hire developers to build the interface.

Makerpad, rather than being an app development platform, is similar to a classroom where you can use various tutorials, templates and tools to learn what can be built without code and how you can do it. The peer community there also provides suggestions and support to help you figure out how to build your project without code.

Makerpad's large, active community of peer developers may be a key part of the acquisition. It gives Zapier a large group of experienced developers providing advice to no-code users and, hopefully, informing those users about Zapier's integration projects and how they can work in tandem with no-code apps.

COBOL and No-Code Apps

OK, so what could a 60-year old programming language have to do with no-code apps? Well, very little except for the one stage of app building that doesn't get much attention - the "program design" phase.

Back before I was dragged kicking and screaming into becoming a manager I was not just a programmer - I was a "programmer/analyst". That meant that I was normally the person who met with the prospective customer and figured out what the customer wanted and how to build a program (or system of programs) to produce the desired output. 

In my opinion, that "design" or planning stage was, and still is, a very important part of building an application, even a fairly simple one. You really need a blueprint of some kind to make sure the program(s) you create run smoothly, efficiently, and do exactly what they're supposed to do.

Creating a detailed set of specifications before starting to write code was always a major part of any COBOL project I worked on and I think that same approach still pays dividends today. Of course. app designs are going to change as they're being built, but having a well thought-out starting point can save a lot of headaches and a lot of re-working of your application. 

If you're interested, here's a website that covers a number of example COBOL projects. It might be worth a few minutes to look at a couple of the more involved projects and just think about how you would design an application like that on your favorite no-code platform:

http://www.csis.ul.ie/cobol/examples/default.htm

Blocks Within Blocks

Most no-code platforms offer you two choices when you decide to create a new app: start from a pre-built template and customize it or start from scratch. Betty Blocks will soon be able to provide you with a third choice - create your app by assembling "Blocks" from their "Block Store". 

No-code apps are built with interface elements, actions, and other objects that are "black boxes", chunks of program code developed by professional programmers. So why not take that concept a step further? With Betty Blocks, if you develop a nifty routine of some kind you can (in the near future) convert that routine to a "block". Then other developers on the platform can insert one or more "blocks" in their app to shorten the app-building process.

The "Block Store" is a little different from a library of plugins in that each block is something that any user could create using the standard features in the platform. However, some program routines can be complicated and time-consuming to construct and blocks could save you time and spare you the headaches involved in creating that routine yourself.

For an overview of what Betty Blocks envisions for the "Block Store" go to: https://docs.bettyblocks.com/en/articles/1786537-block-store-overview.

Quick note: We've added an Example App to the Examples Page

 We've added a very simple, bare bones, Quora-like Airtable app to the Examples page.

What are Progressive Web Apps and Do We Need Them?

For some time now PWAs have been cited as the "wave of the future" in application development. So what are PWAs? A Progressive Web App is a bridge between the world of web apps and the world of native apps (apps that are developed solely for mobile devices). PWAs are hosted on the web, accessed through a standards-compliant browser, and consist of common web technologies like HTML, CSS and Javascript. However, they can be installed on mobile devices direct from the browser and they work like a mobile app. 

PWAs can be saved to a phone or other mobile device’s home screen and function like a native app, with the ability to access the device's camera, gyroscope, and other hardware and even deliver push notifications. PWAs can also be loaded and used offline, since they store HTML and CSS in your browser's cache. 

So, can you create a Progressive Web App on your favorite no-code platform? The answer is probably "yes", but the process may be a little complicated. For example:

• Zoho Creator - Web apps created on Zoho Creator are all PWAs by default, with the backend processing built-in. Once your app is created you can access it from a mobile web browser, install it on the home screen of your mobile device and it will work basically the same as a native app. And, as mentioned, any data entered into the application while it's offline will sync to the web as soon as the device connects to a network.
• Lumavate - Allows users to create no-code PWAs for business as a standard feature of their platform.
• OutSystems - OutSystems added PWA support last year. They let you turn your mobile app into a PWA simply be selecting "PWA" distribution in your app details. According to OutSystems their PWA apps have been tested against Google's Lighthouse tool to ensure compliance with Lighthouse standards.
• GoodBarber - You can create no-code PWAs as a standard option on their platform.
• Bubble - Currently Bubble doesn't provide an option for converting your web app into a mobile or progressive web app. You would have to search for a third party to help you make that conversion.

Many other no-code app platforms are, like Bubble, planning on adding the ability to convert apps developed on their platform into PWAs or can provide a wrapper or third party service to create a PWA from your app.

 
If you decide you want to build a progressive web app you should be aware that there are a few potential problems with PWAs:

• Not all web browsers support Progressive Web Apps. Google Chrome offers full support for PWAs on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iOS, Safari supports PWAs on macOS and iOS (3.11 and above). Microsoft Edge (Chromium) provides full support for PWAs on Windows 10 and on macOS. However, in December of last year Firefox discontinued support on desktops but does still offer partial support on Anroid devices.
• Unlike native apps, it takes a great deal of effort to link Progressive Web Apps to other native apps on your mobile device.
• Updates to PWAs are somewhat complicated since they can't be combined into a single, easily installable package.

At the same time there are also some additional advantages to PWAs:

• After a progressive web app loads, it will run faster than a native app because (being web-based) the content and page elements don't have to be re-loaded each time the page is accessed.
• PWAs tend to be safer because they work via HTTPS, which guards against snooping and makes sure that content hasn't been tampered with.
• PWAs can be shared with others through a URL, without having to go through an app store or requiring a complicated installation procedure.

So, are PWAs really worth it? Considering the widespread use of phones and other mobile devices, many businesses that have switched to PWAs have reported a significant increase in traffic and customer interest. Even though the rush to PWAs has slowed somewhat, it's still a good bet that progressive web apps will end up being a major player in application development in the not-too-distant future.

Connecting Your Zoho Creator App to Outside Services

 

As mentioned in a previous post, plugins (AKA add-ins, add-ons, etc.) can be critical in providing the features you need in your app. Plugins are software components produced by the development platform itself, by users, or by third parties. They provide specific features beyond, or in addition to, what you can do using the basic elements available on the platform.

Primarily, plugins supply the ability to link your app to outside services like Stripe, Mailchimp, and Google Sheets, but they may also be a temporary way to provide functions that will be integrated into the platform in the near future. In any case, if you're creating an app on a no-code (or low-code) platform, you need to be aware of what "add-in" functions you have available to you. 

For example, Zoho Creator offers a wide variety of plugins including:

• PayPal - Accept and make payments to your customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders by using PayPal.
• Stripe - Integrate your app with Stripe's digital payment service.
• Twilio - Send instant notifications via SMS to your customers with Zoho Creator's built-in notification system and Twilio.
• QuickBooks - Your Zoho Creator app can integrate with QuickBooks, to help you manage accounts, generate invoices, and automate payment reminders.
• Zoho CRM, Zoho Books, and Zoho Invoices - Connect to other popular Zoho products.
• Zapier - By connecting to Zapier's integration service you can access over 100 other applications.
• APIs - Zoho Creator allows API calls to multiple apps, either by direct connection or by invoking a URL.

There are dozens of additional plugins for Zoho Creator - take a little time to go through the list and you may find just the one you need for your app.