Low-code and no-code with BESSER to create and deploy smart web applications
This paper introduces BESSER, an open-source low-code framework designed to facilitate the creation and deployment of smart web applications with AI agents through a transparent, extensible, and vendor-lock-in-free web-based editor.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
Imagine you want to build a custom house, but you don't want to spend years learning how to mix cement, wire electricity, or frame walls from scratch. You'd prefer a system where you can just drag and drop pre-made rooms, choose your paint colors, and have a robot handle the construction.
This paper introduces BESSER, a free, open-source tool that does exactly that, but for smart websites instead of houses.
Here is how BESSER works, broken down into simple concepts:
1. The Problem: The "Locked-Box" Builders
Currently, if you want to build a website that includes "smart" features (like an AI chatbot that answers questions), you usually have to hire expensive experts or use commercial software. These commercial tools are like buying a house from a developer who locks the doors: you can live there, but you can't easily change the plumbing, you can't take the blueprints with you if you move, and you're stuck paying them forever.
2. The Solution: The "LEGO" Kit
The authors created BESSER to be the opposite of those locked boxes. Think of it as a digital LEGO set for the web. It is free, open for anyone to look at, and lets you build complex websites without needing to write thousands of lines of code by hand.
3. How You Build (The Three Blueprints)
To build a "smart" app (like a library website with a helpful AI librarian), BESSER asks you to draw three simple blueprints:
- The Skeleton (Structural): This is like drawing the floor plan. You define what data the app needs (e.g., "Books," "Authors," "Due Dates") using simple diagrams.
- The Face (GUI): This is the "No-Code" part. Imagine a digital canvas where you drag and drop buttons, text boxes, and charts. You arrange them just like you would on a slide deck, and the tool instantly turns them into a working webpage.
- The Brain (Agent): This is where the "smart" part comes in. You define a flowchart for an AI agent. You tell it: "If a user asks about 'returning books,' go to this state and say this specific answer." You can even tell it to call outside tools or use advanced AI to generate answers.
4. The Magic Robot (Generation)
Once you have your three blueprints, you hit a button. BESSER acts like a super-fast construction robot. It looks at your drawings and automatically writes the actual computer code needed to make the site work.
- It builds the backend (the engine room) using Python.
- It builds the frontend (the look and feel) using modern web technologies.
- It builds the AI agent so it can talk to users.
5. The Instant Move-In (Deployment)
Usually, putting a website online is like moving into a new house: you have to buy land, hook up water and electricity, and get permits. With BESSER, it's like a prefab house that drops right onto your driveway.
- You connect your free GitHub account (like a digital storage locker).
- You connect to a free cloud service called Render.
- BESSER pushes your new website online in minutes. It handles all the technical setup, giving you a live link with a secure lock (SSL) so people can visit it immediately.
The Bottom Line
The paper demonstrates that you can now design, build, and launch a website with an AI assistant in a matter of minutes using a free web editor. The goal isn't just to make a website; it's to make the process transparent (you can see the code it makes) and flexible (you aren't trapped by a single company).
The authors showed this off with a demo of a library app where a chatbot answers questions, proving that regular people can now build "smart" software without needing to be professional coders.
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