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Forget SQL... CDM Is Where It’s At

Pam Benke, Senior Manager, Product Marketing
August 11, 2022

Codeless data modeling now available in Appian 22.3.

One of the main attributes of low-code development is speed. With the Appian Low-Code Platform, building, modifying and executing enterprise applications is fast and easy. And data is what powers those applications. That data has to be organized and managed, and this can slow down the development process.

As digital transformation continues to be a critical competitive advantage for most enterprises, low-code platforms need to adjust and remain easy and highly flexible. According to Gartner, by 2024, 80% of technology products and services will be built by those who are not full-time technical professionals. Therefore, eliminating the need to know SQL allows developers to spend more time in Appian, building workflows and applications, instead of focusing on database modeling.

In Appian 22.3 all developers, regardless of their knowledge of SQL, are empowered to easily structure and manage data for their applications. The new no-code modeling feature provides a wizard environment in order to streamline working with data in Appian.

Now you can define a record type data model directly in Appian without having an existing database table. A data model can be defined from scratch in the record type designer and Appian generates the related database table for you.

How it works.

The guided wizard walks you through configuring new fields and relating your record type to other existing record types. Simply choose a MariaDB data source where the new tables will be created and define the data and relationships you want. Once you review and confirm your changes, Appian automatically creates the database table and related SQL script for deployment.

In addition, codeless data modeling pairs well with the new Write Records Smart Service to make it easier to update your application. Now, when you add fields to your record type using codeless data modeling, if your process model uses the Write Records Smart Service it's faster and easier to update the rest of your application.

[Have questions about how codeless data modeling works? Contact our team for more in-depth information.]

Level setting the developer field.

As you can see, codeless data modeling ensures faster application development and it level-sets the user experience for all levels of developers.

For developers new to Appian who do not know SQL, codeless data modeling means faster ramp up and the ability to focus on actual development because they don’t need to learn SQL in order to create record types.

For current Appian developers, codeless data modeling also delivers speed and a new level of accuracy. And for those who already know SQL, you may choose to use codeless data modeling for some data modeling tasks, like creating a quick reference table, since it's easy and fast to define the data model directly in Appian.

Codeless data modeling ties together relationships and fields, ultimately resulting in less errors and a more holistic data modeling experience for all users.

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