The AEC industry has seen significant advancements in recent years, from innovative construction methods to new building materials. One major area of growth is in automation and digital delivery, which improves efficiency and drives innovation. For tech-inclined professionals this opens up new avenues and opportunities to build innovative solutions and workflows.
While learning a programming language to create these custom tools might seem appealing, here are five reasons why visual programming might help you build better.
Reason 1: Barrier to Entry
Learning to code is relatively easy, but creating a workable solution can be tough. Visual programming helps you quickly get to a functional product. Its intuitive graphical nature lowers the barrier to entry, especially for those without a formal background in computer science. The best part? - visual programming uses a drag-and-drop approach, allowing users to create complex workflows and ideas.
Reason 2: You Are Not Technically Interacting with the Metal
Using tools like Grasshopper and Dynamo feels empowering since you are not dealing directly with concepts like low-level computer architecture or memory allocation. The developers of these tools have done the heavy lifting, abstracting away the complexities into “batteries” that you can use to build complex solutions quickly.
Reason 3: Shorter Turnaround Time from Idea to MVP
A crucial step in developing a workflow is building a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Visual programming, with its abstracted tools, helps you take an idea and bring it to life quickly. There are minimal bugs, and the quick feedback allows for easy troubleshooting, provided the logic is sound.
Reason 4: Tailored Solutions
Building custom software the hard way can be challenging, especially if project requirements change frequently. Visual programming allows you to modify the “source code” to fit the specific problem at hand, creating better solutions and giving teams more control.
Reason 5: Extendibility
Not everything can be achieved using visual programming due to the limitations in pre-built components or nodes. However, many visual programming tools allow for hard coding within their interfaces, enabling you to create custom components when needed. While coding may not be for everyone, visual programming provides a versatile and accessible alternative.