Technological innovations are moving at breakneck speed, leaving developers scrambling to make quality apps in record time. On average, MVPs take three to four months to build — a much shorter timeline than years prior, as new and faster tech has increased productivity and amped up demands.
However, one thing that has stayed relatively complex and time-consuming is the app testing process. Developers usually finish coding an app and then test it, which takes from weeks to months of iterations, depending on how comprehensive the app is.
When making improvements and fixing bugs, it can take several minutes to compile and reflect the changes. Once tested, more modifications ensue in a trial-and-error process that can stall progress from all the waiting alone.
Real-time app testing, also known as hot reloading, has been making waves for developers as a means to get through mobile and desktop app testing with only a few seconds in between. The changes you make to specific files get saved and reflect almost instantly on the state of the app you’ve signed into, allowing for quicker testing and making bug fixes simultaneously.
In low-code/no-code platforms, hot reloading is a given rather than an add-on, propelling experts and non-experts to push software effectively in a fraction of the time. Let’s go over this testing method’s three biggest advantages.
Significant Time Savings With Hot Reloading
It’s true what they say: “Time is money.” Developers know this all too well. And, when trying to meet deadlines, app testing can be their biggest detractor. In fact, a recent Harness report revealed that 42% of developers believe that deploying code isn’t fast or efficient, which leads to stress and burnout, a symptom that 52% attribute as a primary reason for their peers leaving their jobs.
As such, agility and the reduction of long and repetitive tasks can positively impact every aspect of app development, even mental health.
Hot reloading in a low-code/no-code app builder can be their saving grace, enabling them to deliver faster and better results in an industry that constantly demands more productivity.
For instance, one of our developers asserts that it can take up to 10 minutes to compile and get to the state you’re testing when using a conventional programming language. If you’re testing and then fixing many features, that time multiplies as many times as you need to test anything, getting you further and further from the finish line with every new iteration. This is the case for almost all hard coding, meaning most developers go through this daily.
However, with hot reloading, you simply upload changes to the cloud, refresh your app, and then you’re able to see fixes right away. If you’re using Appli, it’s as simple as saving your changes, hitting the ‘play’ button to make sure actions are running as you want them, and then refreshing your app on mobile or desktop.
This takes minutes to seconds and removes the need to find the state you’re testing because it allows you to stay where you are and see the changes in real time.
An Immediate Feedback Loop
Imagine you’re back in school and hard at work to finish a project. Once it’s done, you send it in for review, but it takes weeks for the teacher to take a look and give you feedback. By the time it gets back to you with revisions, you’ve already lost your groove, forcing you to work extra hard to get back on track and mend the revisions.
This disconnect between working on a project and making corrections is a developer’s daily bread when testing their application. You might be working on a feature, and once you compile it, it might’ve been well over half an hour where you got distracted or took up another task.
Real-time app testing in low-code/no-code tools offers developers an unmatched immediacy that allows for better workflows, increasing productivity and efficiency in the home stretch of app development.
Indie developers might also find that, when working with clients, this quick feedback loop means there’s less back-and-forth when finalizing a project, and any iterations can be made on the spot rather than over multiple days.
Fewer Errors When You Build An App Without Code
Our developers have lived it — some have had to wait 30 minutes to compile an app in order to test it in the past. So, they’d plan their day around testing, then wait until the end of their shift to compile it, hope for the best, and continue the next day.
This is where the advantages of hot reloading in low-code/no-code platforms shine through: it massively helps developers save time and grants them the freedom to progress without compiling constraints, translating into fewer distractions and, evidently, far fewer errors.
An immediate feedback loop with shorter wait times between app fixes makes for an ideal uninterrupted workflow (a developer’s dream!) that favors accuracy and leaves less room for mistakes. As a result, focused developers potentially have fewer bugs to fix, making their job easier and more efficient. What’s not to like?
This isn’t to say that hot reloading is an all-encompassing improvement that removes all the struggles of the app development process. However, it does help address timeline overruns, unnecessary mental health strains, and error snowballing, delivering an improved development experience.
Ultimately, hot reloading is one more salient advantage of using low-code/no-code tools in today’s fast-paced tech environment. As project timelines shorten and demand soars for developers, these tools are primed for easier and quicker testing that will significantly reduce deployment time.
Are you ready to experience faster testing times and more efficient app development? Download the Appli Builder today and get started!
