Introducing Flex

Oct 24, 2024 • 4 minutes to read

We are excited to introduce Flex, Caspio’s next-generation framework for building powerful, modern applications. Flex is built to complement our existing Bridge framework, giving you the flexibility to choose the framework that best fits your needs without compromising functionality. While Bridge remains the trusted and comprehensive framework recommended to tech-savvy users, the introduction of Flex brings completely new possibilities to less technical users who want to develop apps in a friendly, visual environment with more ease.

Why Flex?

Flex brings a modern approach to low-code development with an intuitive, visual interface, setting a new standard for creating dynamic and responsive applications. By simplifying the app-building process and providing advanced features, Flex allows you to focus on innovation rather than technical challenges. It’s designed for users who want a more streamlined, design-centric experience, making it easier than ever to build, manage, and deploy applications.

Key Features of Flex

Roles: Control app access easily, assigning roles to users and groups and setting their permissions. Learn more about Roles.

Segments: Sections of your app that correspond to specific user roles are automatically created and ready for you to design their interfaces. This ensures precise control over who can see or interact with different parts of your app. Learn more about Segments.

Visual application builder: As you build your app, you get a good idea what its pages will look like, enabling a more intuitive and efficient design process. Learn more about Designing Apps.

AppPages and DataParts: Flex introduces AppPages on which you can create multiple DataParts and configure them to communicate with each other without having to pass parameters as it is done in Bridge DataPages. For example, you can filter a DataPart based on the current state of another DataPart, or set default values to Forms from other DataParts. This feature is key to creating more dynamic, interconnected apps. Learn more about AppPages and DataParts.

Menu builder: Built-in support to create navigational menus between your AppPages, making it easy to create an intuitive and friendly user experience. Menus are one of the several types of widgets you can add to your app interfaces. Learn more about Widgets.

Turnkey app hosting: Flex apps can be fully published in a hosted environment without requiring deployment to your own site. At the same time, you also retain the ability to host apps on your own website. Learn more about Deployment.

Built-in turnkey user management: Manage app users through Caspio Directories, with turnkey UI for seamless integration. Additionally, a Profile menu is available for every app to allow users to manage their own profile, for example change their password. Learn more about Directories.

Flex & Bridge: Seamless Integration, Superior Flexibility

While Flex introduces a cutting-edge, modernized app-building experience, it works seamlessly alongside Bridge, Caspio’s established low-code framework. Both Flex and Bridge use the same data structure, ensuring that building an application in either framework will not lead to data silos or integration challenges. Here’s how they complement each other:

Unified Data Structure: Flex and Bridge share the same underlying data structure, meaning you can build apps in either environment without worrying about data silos or migration issues.

Consistent Functionality: Advanced features like triggered actions, tasks, DataHub, API are independent from the framework and therefore work in both Flex and Bridge.

Fully supported: Both frameworks are fully supported by Caspio. We continue to wholeheartedly recommend both of them, depending on the app use case and the creator’s skill level.

Accessed Within the Same Account: Both Flex and Bridge are available within the same Caspio account, allowing you to switch between frameworks effortlessly and manage your applications in one unified environment.

Hybrid Applications: It is possible to create hybrid applications that leverage the strengths of both Flex and Bridge. For example, you can build parts of your app in Flex while incorporating components built in Bridge, by placing Bridge DataPages on Flex AppPages. This can help you create a unified, powerful application that utilizes the best features of both frameworks.

Enhancing Bridge with Flex Hosting: Bridge apps have become more versatile than ever, as they can now be hosted and embedded within Flex. This means you can leverage Flex’s advanced hosting capabilities while maintaining the familiar structure of your Bridge applications.

By offering both Flex and Bridge, Caspio empowers you with the best of both worlds. Whether you want the modern, visually intuitive capabilities of Flex or the tried-and-true flexibility of Bridge, you can build powerful applications without compromise. With seamless integration, shared features, and the ability to create hybrid apps, Flex and Bridge together represent the most comprehensive low-code solution available today.

Learn more about Flex.