ICME and Blocks: No-Code Development on the Internet Computer

ICME and Blocks make it easier to develop Web3 projects and dapps using canister smart contracts.

“We think the future of coding is no coding at all,” said departing GitHub CEO Chris Wanstrath in 2017. “Programming isn’t about typing, it’s about thinking.”

Today, a range of no-code development platforms exist in the Web2 space that enable non-technical people to create software applications — but Web3 development has very limited no-code options.

ICME and Blocks are two no-code platforms running on the Internet Computer blockchain that are filling this gap, making it easier to code using canister smart contracts. “The IC is the fastest, most scalable, and most affordable blockchain to build on, having low-cost on-chain file storage and zero gas fees,” says ICME co-founder Houman Shadab.

“The number of Web3 creators and entrepreneurs massively outweighs Web3 developers,” he adds. “As a result, the need to hire a Web3 developer or to learn coding has created a development bottleneck, stifling creativity and entrepreneurship.”

The Internet Computer Solves Web3’s Reliance on Web2 Tech

This explains the organic demand for Web3 no-code development tools, which can reduce prototype development time and facilitate better coordination between team members, reducing a project’s time to market.

“Want to try out a new idea? It is often much more time effective to make the MVP with a no-code tool,” says ICME co-founder Wyatt Benno. “Imagine spending three months building something to just discover there is no demand! No-code helps people create and experiment like never before.”

“No-code or low-code environments make it easier for non-technical users to understand a program’s business logic, while doubling up as a powerful learning tool and reference point for the underlying codebase,” says Blocks co-founder Ryan Vandersmith. “Blockchain smart contracts are a perfect use case for no-code editors due to the need for secure, transparent, and well-understood application logic.”

These tools also save experienced developers time from coding the same things from scratch each time they start a new project, enabling developers of all kinds to work more productively.

ICME

ICME is a no-code development platform that allows users to build customizable websites, NFTs, and DAOs.

“ICME enables its users to take full advantage of what Web3 has to offer: fully decentralized and customizable websites and apps, fast and scalable projects, low-cost on-chain file storage, and zero gas fees,” says Shadab. “No other no-code development platform for Web3 offers these benefits. The others require builders to build with significant compromises, such as using cloud services to host front ends, storing files off-chain due to high storage costs, and not enabling builders to customize the user interface of front ends.”

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 — @HoumanShadab

To build a website with ICME, users interact with a “Pages” editor to add pages or customize features. Customization includes adjusting with the HTML to accommodate different text and image styles. The “Components” page is used for adding a header and footer and customizing themes according to the design.

Users will also soon be able to mint their own NFTs on ICME using the user-deployable minting canister ICMint. ICMint will facilitate the minting of various file types as NFTs that users can directly sell without a marketplace. Users can customize their own NFTs, form well-knit NFT communities, manage business documents, or even integrate NFT minting-as-a-service.

“ICME gives users a full range of true, end-to-end customizable and fully-decentralized Web3 building capabilities not limited to one area such as NFTs, DAOs, or dapps,” says Shadab. “ICME will provide a single platform for users to be able to launch NFT projects, organize and manage DAOs, and seamlessly integrate these building capabilities. For example, a builder can use ICME to create a DAO that requires purchasing an NFT to join as a member as well as to launch and sell the NFTs required for membership.”

Blocks

Blocks is a drag-and-drop visual smart contract editor that makes developing dapps on the Internet Computer more approachable. “Every line of code must be carefully scrutinized for possible vulnerabilities, making a graphical editor highly practical for spotting security issues and encouraging better code encapsulation,” writes Vandersmith.

Blocks is compatible with ordinary web browsers and mobile devices, and offers several unique features that support accessible Web3 dapp development.

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 — @BlocksEditor

Instead of copy-pasting the code into the Motoko Playground runtime environment, Blocks has an integration for deploying canister smart contracts from the editor. Users can also write test cases and deploy their project to the Internet Computer for real-time evaluation. An extensive tutorial system and set of interactive templates help to ease the learning curve. There is also a public beta for creating a DIP721 NFT with the Blocks editor.

Blocks has an interface inspired by the Blender node editor and the Blueprint Visual Scripting system in Unreal Engine. ​​”Blocks is currently the most approachable and flexible visual editor for blockchain smart contracts,” says Vandersmith.

“The Internet Computer’s programming language, Motoko, is well-suited for visual programming due to its high-level functional syntax,” he notes. “Furthermore, the Internet Computer’s extreme horizontal scalability is important for practical, real-world decentralized applications.”

Advantages for all

Businesses, services, and content creators can all benefit enormously from no-code development platforms like ICME and Blocks, allowing new builders to enter Web3 development and efficiently launch their ideas. Experienced developers can also unlock advantages.

“Professionals can use the APIs of no-code tools to create things that they otherwise may not want to code from scratch: think of token standards, payment flows, login, NFTs, etc.,” explains Benno. “Experienced developers greatly benefit from no-code development platforms because the platforms save them significant time.”

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Smart contract development is currently dominated by complex programming languages such as Rust and Solidity, so visual no-code platforms can improve collaboration between engineers and non-technical team members, notes Vandersmith.

“Instead of completely relying on developers, project founders can quickly review or define their project’s top-level application logic in a manner reminiscent of website builders such as Wix or Squarespace,” he says.

Innovators can experiment like never before. Tools like ICME and Blocks are paving a path to Web3 for teams to transform promising ideas into groundbreaking solutions, with every member capable of contributing to development.
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Start building at smartcontracts.org and join the developer community at forum.dfinity.org.

ICME and Blocks: No-Code Development on the Internet Computer was originally published in The Internet Computer Review on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.