View Source: RAD - Waikato Linux Users Group

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An [Acronym] for __R__apid __A__pplication __D__evelopment. It usually means an [IDE] with a point-and-click tool for building graphical user interfaces.

There are at least two schools of thought regarding their use. Depending on which school you follow, [RAD] tools are…

* …best used for rapid prototyping of an application, as they have high-quality form builders and allow fast development of complex interfaces. However, the code bloat that comes with the abstraction that [RAD] provides is detrimental to the performance, so they are unsuited for final products.
* …perfectly fine to use for all tasks.

Regardless of your own opinion, be aware that abstractions cannot replace knowledge of how things work. Sure, you can design [SQL] queries visually, drop a DataBase component onto a form, and have it a grid of values populated automagically. But if you don't understand [SQL] or how DataBase connections are made, chances are you'll create inefficient and/or too inflexible code and run into problems sooner or later. You might be missing heaps of ways to perform a query, some of which might be better than what you picked, simply because your [RAD] tool limits your world view and keeps you from educating yourself.

And because the expressive capability of [GUI]s is inherently limited, you may often find yourself unable to create something that fits a complex spec exactly.

6 pages link to RAD:

Last edited on Sunday, January 2, 2005 10:58:03 am by AristotlePagaltzis

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