Pros and Cons with code generation through Starlify

On this week's Tech Tuesday, we had the opportunity to listen to our own integration specialist Mikael Drott and his work with generated code. In his presentation, Mikael listed some of the pros and cons of the importance of having a structured source of information as input to a code generator. And the significance of Starlify in the process.

We use our product Starlify to visualize the integration landscape and to store information about it. It contains things like internal and external systems, how one system or service relates to another in a specific flow/integration, IDs and names on everything, etc. This means Starlify is packed with well-structured information and documentation, waiting to get used in other places. But how do we do that? Through code generation!

Code generation is the ability to use data input and create code that you can use in other vital areas of your business. The main gain of generating code is that it will save you both time and money. And it enables you to invest your newly freed resources on more complex and time-consuming things - like integrations. *nudge nudge*. 

Mikael listed the most important pros and cons of code generation. Take a look and see if you agree or disagree with him.

Pros

1. Get a "basic flow" more or less directly with new development/migration/rebuilding

2. Ensures that Starlify IDs are entered correctly into the logging 

3. Standardization: Shared base of code between the teams, and it simplifies for new employees 

4. Reliability

5. Someone adds support for a new language. And the rest of the developers can quickly start with the new language

6. Effectivity: Saves time and money which can be used to solve more complex parts of integrations

Cons (and what to do about them)

1. Support of the code generator itself

   • There will be bugs - deal with them as you go
   • Keep it simple

2. Adds a layer of complexity

   • Keep the code simple and don't add unnecessary complex things unless it's really worth it
   • Let people handle more complex logic!

3. Control

   • Local changes to code (you need to update and push the code to make it global)
   • Use revision control
   • Manual review before you merge it with code

Would you like to learn more about the benefits of generating code with starlify?

If you do, don't hesitate to contact us by email or just click the orange chatbox 👋