How to incorporate code reusability with OutSystems

App development is an integral part of building a transformative platform. An eCommerce website with a mobile app helps organizations connect with their customers on multiple touchpoints and stay consistent with their offerings. Businesses must use reusable components in the development environment to enhance the application building process and deliver a scalable and smooth-functioning application. OutSystems is one such platform that helps enterprises achieve this goal with its distinctive features like component-based architecture, low-code development, and code reusability.

Code reusability is one of the most useful features of Outsystems that allows developers to build mobile applications with lightning speed by reusing code blocks previously developed or deployed. Also, it helps them to work on different modules independently, thus avoiding the chances of conflicts.

What is code reusability?

Code reusability in OutSystems refers to building a new app (mobile and web) using pre-existing components. It is an intuitive approach to use the already developed pieces of code to design a new functionality and help developers deliver consistent, scalable, and easily maintainable enterprise and mobile applications.

The component-based architecture of OutSystems makes it very convenient for developers to build a new application with a modular approach. It also helps them reuse existing elements or modules multiple times on all layers of application development – UI, business logic, and database. The reusability of OutSystems modules is often compared to legos, where the same building blocks can be used several times for creating new structures.

Benefits of Code reusability

Here’re 6 major benefits of code reusability that enhance the application development process:

#1: Simplified code modification

The reusable and modular application building process allows developers to accommodate the constantly changing needs of business owners. Reusing the already built components also eliminates the need to change the code in all applications where they are used. Code reusability enables developers to make modifications in a module at the base level and reflect the changes on all the apps using it. Additionally, OutSystems allows developers to conduct impact analysis through a dependency analysis graph that can help them understand the impact of changes made in any reusable code.

#2: Rapid application development

OutSystems component-based application development allows coders to reuse the components from a pre-existing repository directly by dragging and dropping the required modules as and when needed. The use of pre-designed elements also reduces the app debugging time and saves additional development efforts. Code reuse speeds up application building, updating, adding new features, and delivery time.

#3: Robust application architecture

Reusing the existing code allows you to automatically release a single update for all apps using the same component solely by changing a single module. This strategy helps developers in simplifying all their business processes. It also allows the customization of apps by creating configuration components that can guide the reusable modules on how to function for a specific app, giving all the applications a robust architecture. Code reusability also enables developers to focus on the details of the customizing app instead of building basic modules right from scratch.

#4: Consistent applications

Since code reusability enables developers to work with already simplified, tested, and debugged modules, it reduces the complexity of the end application and helps them maintain consistency while creating new apps or updating the existing ones. It also eliminates the possibility of redundancy across various teams using a shared component repository.

#5: Cost-effectiveness

Creating an enterprise application by reusing code requires only a few developers. They can build reusable components and develop applications based on business users’ requirements in less time. Maintaining fewer resources and delivering apps faster results in improved productivity, better sales, increased revenue, and reduced investment costs. Thus, creating mobile and web applications using reusable components is a cost-effective solution for enterprises.

#6: Time-saving

One of the key benefits of code reuse is that it enables application developers to save ample time by not creating the same things over and over again. Instead, they can put their efforts into creating something new to be placed in the component repository for reuse. Time-saving is the most beneficial aspect of code reusability as it allows developers to create an entirely novel, functional, and secure application within a small amount of time.

How can developers incorporate code reusability with OutSystems?

Developers can use the following tips to incorporate code reuse into their application development process via low-code development platform.

• Developers should create two types of modules while creating reusable components – producer module and consumer module. Producer modules have the logic to be implemented, and the consumer modules use the logic provided by producer modules to develop a mobile and web application.
• The elements that can qualify to be reusable should have their Public Property set to ‘Yes’ in order to be discovered and used to create multiple applications.
• Code reuse can also consist of numerous UI elements such as web blocks, CSS style sheets, and web screens.
• As per OutSystems evaluation guide, exposing web services is also a way to share functions not only with multiple OutSystems applications, but also with external applications, which can consume these services in a decoupled fashion.
• Database sharing is another way to incorporate the process of reusing code. Data between application modules can be shared in either read mode or read/write mode.
• Data schemas can be shared externally also, as OutSystems uses standard database structures like Microsoft SQL server and Oracle.
• Developers should set permissions on the reusable components so that it is possible to enable governance of shared modules.
• Data tables should be consistent and placed in a separate module at all times as they are shared amongst web and mobile applications.
• Developers should make maximum use of the component library – Forge, provided by OutSystems to reuse the existing components.

Accelerating application development using OutSystems code reusability

Code reusability with OutSystems is a hybrid approach that provides low-code developers with a platform to build mobile and web applications in the blink of an eye. The benefits of code reuse include ample innovation opportunities for coders, a streamlined application development process, creating scalable applications, and enhanced component adaptability. Code reusability increases the productivity of the application development team and helps businesses achieve organizational digital transformation goals.