Revolutionizing AppSheet Development: Reusable Modules for Faster, Scalable Apps

[Gustavo_Eduardo]

Dear AppSheet Community,

Often, when developing applications, we find ourselves creating modules or features that repeat across different projects. I’d like to share an idea that could optimize this process and save valuable development time: module reuse.

Let’s imagine we are building apps for businesses. There’s probably a customer module, where we enter all client data—name, address, contact information, etc. This module, designed for a specific application, could easily be reused in other apps without having to build it from scratch. The same could apply to other common modules like inventory, products, or invoicing.

What am I suggesting?

I’m proposing the creation of reusable modules in AppSheet—small, predefined components or objects that have already been designed and tested, ready to be cloned and combined with others to create new apps. This way, instead of starting each app from scratch, we could combine existing modules and adjust them to fit the project's needs.

Examples:

• Module 1 (Customers) + Module 3 (Inventory) + Module 7 (Sales) = App1 (Store Management).
• Module 1 (Customers) + Module 4 (Orders) + Module 8 (Logistics) = App2 (Supply Chain Management).
• Now, App1 + App2 = App3, where both apps combine and their functionalities work together in a single environment.

Advantages

1. Time-saving: We wouldn’t need to design the same components from scratch every time. We could create a library of standard modules (customers, products, invoicing, etc.) and reuse them across different apps.
2. Standardized methodology: We’d maintain consistency in our projects by using the same structure for columns, names, and relationships. This would not only simplify development but also reduce the chances of errors.
3. Scalability: These modular apps could grow and be combined. For example, if a business needs additional features, we could simply integrate a new module without disrupting the functionality of the existing ones.

Combining apps

With this idea, we could even combine entire apps. For instance, a customer and sales management app could be integrated with an inventory app to create a more robust solution. App1 + App2 = App3, where two previously developed apps work together as one.

Is this possible?

Thanks to advancements in artificial intelligence, this is not only imaginable—it’s entirely possible! With AI support and advanced development tools like AppSheet, we could automate the creation of these reusable modules and optimize the entire process.

In summary, the idea is to be able to reuse and combine modules across apps to accelerate development and improve efficiency. I’d love to hear your thoughts and how you see the potential of implementing something like this!

[MultiTech]

Preaching to the choir! I've been trying to get them to do this since before Google bought the company! 

Worse... There are internal mechanisms that have been in place since the beginning (I'm talking since 2015!) that could be leveraged to make something like this work.  😫 

Note Parameters are a step in the right direction, but they're kind of fiddly so it's not really a good solution - but it can at least accomplish some of what you're looking for. 

https://community.appsheet-insider.com/c/private-multitech-supporters-area/note-parameter-workshop/1...

(Not private, open to the public! it just started in a folder that was originally marked as private, so the URL static now.)

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Best solution for this with the current state of the system is to build one big app with everything involved, using the current user system to help conform the app based on who's actively using it.

[Gustavo_Eduardo]

@MultiTech I saw your post. It’s excellent and it’s true that it’s been a long time since you made it (I didn’t exist in the AppSheet community back then, I’ve been here since 2022). I don’t know if Google will do it, but it’s certainly a great idea and it’s good that you’ve left a link here to a possible (and more than viable) solution. Personally, I consider myself a person with many ideas and, being part of this community with such great people, all I want to do is share them. I can only say thank you for your comment.

[MultiTech]

@Gustavo_Eduardo you'll find that a lot in this community:  things have been requested half a decade ago (or more) with no progress. That's not to say that progress isn't happening, far from it; it's just that most of the progress has been behind the scenes on stability and code refinement, integrating things deeper, etc.

Who knows if the dev team is paying attention to this section of the community (from all accounts it looks like no), but it can't hurt - no?

My intention wasn't to deter you from future suggestions, just adding context. 😉 

Happy Apping!

[Gustavo_Eduardo]

Dear @MultiTech , I fully agree with what you said. I know who you are, and I know that you have contributed immensely to this community. You are one of the most valuable people who writes in these forums. By the way, I would like to thank you again for your comment and return your kind wishes towards me.

Greetings from Argentina,

Gustavo.

[cristobalossa]

🤔 Hello 

I have been working (as a non-profit organization) with a part of the Latin American Spanish community to promote the development of applications based on principles such as base and scale applications.

New and old users, especially today considering the fantastic upgrade in the Admin platform, need to have some solid starting bases but that can be scaled in other countries, use cases, different legislation or needs..

This community of developers believes in the product (AppSheet and also others) and maybe due to lack of language they do not actively participate here, but there are many and powerful developers...

Taking into account the structure of tables, names and details it is still difficult to scale, with the tremendous cost in time and unforced errors that are regenerated... making commercialization very slow for them and their clients. 

If any of you have more information on how to develop the foundations and then scale up in functionalities such as feature acquisition, I would greatly appreciate your comments

Especially yours @MultiTech and  @Gustavo_Eduardo

The opportunities would be endless for the current Workspace customer base and a tremendous incentive for future ones.

all the best to all of you 

[Radim_Sochor]

That was the idea of ​​founder Praveen... many years ago

I was looking forward to it and that's why I chose AppSheet for development 😞