I’ve been building no-code applications long before the term “no-code” became mainstream. Yet even today, I find that many people use the word without fully understanding the underlying technology — or what truly defines a no-code platform.
Now that my patent for the no-code software development platform ACENji has been officially published, it’s the perfect time to break down those details.
In today’s article, we’ll explore what actually makes up a no-code platform — not just in theory, but in architecture, components, and purpose.
What Is a No-Code Platform?
A traditional explanation might say it’s a visual builder that allows users to drag and drop elements to create an application from scratch — something that can be used by others without writing code. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this definition, but it falls short of capturing the true essence of a no-code platform.
A real no-code platform should enable the instant creation of desired features or full applications, whether the outcome is driven by a human or a machine.
- When the user builds, it’s through the familiar drag-and-drop interface and visual manipulation.
- When the machine builds, it leverages a declarative language, learning from previously built applications, reusable design patterns, and predefined templates.
1. Core Engine
1.1 Core
If we take a closer look at the foundational component — the core engine — it can be defined as:
“A no-code software development platform comprising at least one computer processor and user interface operable with a memory storage medium…”
In simpler terms, a no-code platform requires computing power — the engine that drives application behavior. This power, together with the user interface and memory, forms the dynamic layer that allows users to define and execute application logic.
And today, that computing power is immense. Consider the AMD EPYC 9754 (“Bergamo”), with 128 cores and Zen 4c architecture — an ideal processor for powering cloud-native, large-scale applications built on a no-code foundation.
1.2 UI: Types of User Interfaces in No-Code Platforms
Drag-and-Drop Visual Builders
This is the most familiar and widely expected interface in no-code development. It allows users to visually place buttons, forms, and other UI elements onto a canvas — typically for building web applications.
Platforms like Webflow, Glide, and Adalo are great examples of this approach.
ACENji incorporates drag-and-drop components as well, particularly in creating card-based or tile-based applications. These components visually represent the relationships between pages and elements, forming intuitive flows for the user.
Flow-Based or Node-Based Editors
This method is ideal for visualizing logic, automation, and conditional workflows. Applications are constructed using interconnected nodes or blocks, defining endless “If This, Then That” scenarios.
Popular tools like Zapier and n8n represent this approach. It’s especially well-suited for AI modification, as the logic is visually structured and easy to evolve over time.
Block-Based Interfaces (Modular Builders)
Designed for scalable, reusable, and repeatable behavior, this UI type builds application pages from modular blocks — such as forms, data tables, and charts.
This is commonly used in dashboards, CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) applications, and internal tools. Examples include Retool and Softr.
In ACENji, this approach is visible in the use of predefined user templates, allowing teams to build from proven layouts and reusable design logic.
Form-Based UI
Best used when workflows are highly structured or compliance-driven, such as in finance or government sectors. Form-based UIs provide data input through step-by-step forms, often resulting in auto-generated documents.
Ideal use cases include:
- Mortgage applications
- Loan processing
- Legal or regulatory submissions
This model is data-driven, template-based, and focused on precision.
Hybrid UI with AI-Assisted Design
This emerging trend combines traditional UI tools with AI-powered automation. Users can initiate app creation through prompts, with AI filling in logic, structure, and even layout — accelerating development and onboarding.
Platforms like Builder.ai exemplify this direction.
ACENji also embraces this paradigm, as outlined in its patented claim: combining the power of a declarative language with a plugin interface to enable AI-enhanced, scalable app generation.
2. Pre-Coded Applications
At the heart of a no-code platform’s functionality are two foundational building blocks: Form apps and Card apps.
Form Apps
Forms are the more traditional of the two — widely used across industries, especially in legal, compliance, and government systems. They are typically independent modules that operate based on conditional logic, guiding the user through a structured process.
Common use cases include:
- Surveys and questionnaires
- Input collection forms
- Approval and request flows
Forms are ideal when each component operates in isolation and the goal is to collect, validate, and process user-provided data.
Card Apps
Cards represent the evolution of logic modeling in no-code. They are interconnected units within a defined workflow, often forming parent-child or sibling relationships between steps.
Where forms are static and modular, cards are dynamic and contextual — each card can influence the next step, trigger actions, or pass data through the workflow.
Examples include:
- Step-by-step onboarding flows
- Project or task dependencies
- Workflow stages (e.g., review → sign → notify)
3. Plugin Interface
This is where modern no-code platforms truly begin to thrive — when they are not operating in isolation, but instead integrate seamlessly with external data sources.
A robust plugin interface allows a no-code platform to connect with third-party systems, making it part of a larger digital ecosystem. This is essential for building enterprise-ready applications that need to communicate with existing business tools.
One of the most common use cases is integration with a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. For example, a no-code platform like ACENji could connect directly to Salesforce, allowing client data to flow in and outof the no-code application.
But it doesn’t stop at data access — through plugins, the no-code platform can also trigger actions within those external systems. Imagine a user submitting a form inside a no-code app, and that instantly creates a new opportunityor opens a sales pipeline in Salesforce — all without writing a single line of code.
🔗 Real-world examples include:
- Connecting to Stripe for payment processing
- Integrating with Google Sheets for dynamic reporting
- Pulling in geolocation data for logistics apps
- Sending Slack messages based on workflow triggers
- Updating inventory in a Shopify store
ACENji’s patented architecture includes a dedicated plugin interface, designed to operationally couple with client data sources through a data-facing interface — a core part of what makes it scalable, extensible, and enterprise-ready.
4. Declarative Language
A truly powerful no-code platform must be built on a declarative language foundation.
Legacy platforms like Bubble, for example, often rely on XML-based architectures, where every element, behavior, and structure is ultimately translated into a tightly structured XML format. While functional, this approach can be limiting and harder to extend in modern environments.
In contrast, ACENji embraces a more modern paradigm using JSON — a widely adopted, lightweight data format that’s easier to interpret, integrate, and scale. JSON also aligns better with modern web technologies, APIs, and AI systems.
Regardless of whether a platform uses XML, JSON, or another schema, the key is that everything is defined declaratively — events, styles, database connections, logic flows, and more. This means that the system understands what the user wants to achieve, not how to do it step-by-step like in traditional programming.
Why Declarative Matters
Declarative design shifts the focus from writing instructions to defining outcomes. Instead of scripting procedural code, users work within a structured schema that is:
- Consistent
- Predictable
- Easier to maintain
- Less prone to bugs
This methodology also enables better AI-assisted development, template reuse, and more effective version control.
However, this power comes with a caveat: it requires precision. Small schema errors or misalignments can lead to failures in the application builder or result in cascading issues. That’s why declarative platforms demand a focused, detail-oriented mindset — but they reward that discipline with scalability, flexibility, and long-term reliability.
ACENji’s patent specifically incorporates this declarative language layer as a key innovation — enabling the platform to not only build faster, but also structure applications in a way that supports machine understanding, plugin integration, and automated assembly at scale.
Final Thoughts
Having these five components built into your no-code platform gives you a significant advantage in today’s world of software development — where scalability, reliability, and near bug-free delivery are no longer optional, but expected.
But there’s an even bigger benefit:
With these five pillars in place, your platform isn’t just a no-code tool — it becomes the foundation for building a true, 100% no-code super app builder.
How about that?
Want to dive deeper into what a super app really is? Start here: What Is a Super App?
Thanks for reading
By Ivan Assenov
