Five

What is Five?

Five is a rapid application development environment designed to help developers build and deploy bespoke business software with greater speed and efficiency. It is a low-code platform that uniquely empowers developers by allowing the use of full code, including SQL, JavaScript, and TypeScript, for advanced customization and logic. The platform is primarily used to create custom internal tools, business process management (BPM) applications, online databases, and user portals.

A central part of Five is V, an AI development assistant built into the platform. Developers can describe what they want to build in natural language, and V helps generate database schemas, SQL queries, pages, and application logic, accelerating development from prompt to deployed software.

A key strength of Five is its data source flexibility. Applications built with Five can seamlessly connect to a variety of data sources, including:

• An integrated MySQL database provided within the platform.
• External relational databases such as MySQL or MS SQL Server.
• Any data endpoint accessible via a REST API or OData.

This hybrid approach combines the speed of low-code development with the power and control of traditional coding, making it an ideal solution for creating robust, data-driven, and responsive web applications for both internal and external users.

Developers retain full ownership of their applications and application data built on Five; Five retains ownership only of the development environment itself, similar to how Microsoft owns Word but not the documents created with it.

Why Choose Five?

• Developer-Centric Low-Code: Unlike many platforms that restrict developers, Five embraces them. It provides the freedom to write custom SQL queries, JavaScript, or TypeScript almost anywhere in the application, ensuring that complex business requirements can always be met.
• Accelerated Deployment: Five automates the entire deployment process. Developers can deploy applications to development, testing, or production environments with a single click, significantly reducing time-to-market and eliminating manual DevOps tasks.
• Managed Cloud Infrastructure: The platform handles all the complexities of cloud deployment, upgrades, and maintenance. It uses a modern, containerized architecture orchestrated by Kubernetes, meaning your team can focus on building great applications without needing specialized skills in Docker or cloud infrastructure management.
• Enhanced Security: Data integrity and security are paramount. In Five, each application's production database is independent and completely isolated from others, ensuring that your sensitive business data is secure and not commingled. All data is encrypted at rest and in transit, with single sign-on (SSO/SAML) and two-factor authentication available from the Team tier upward, and enterprise-grade disaster recovery on the Enterprise plan.
• Versatile Application Building: From custom inventory management systems to client portals and internal dashboards, Five is an excellent tool for building a wide range of custom online database applications that are responsive and accessible on any device.

Advanced Features of Five

• Full-Code Extensibility: The platform's standout feature is the ability to escape the limitations of visual builders. Developers can inject custom code at virtually any point, allowing for sophisticated business logic, complex data transformations, and unique user interface interactions.
• Flexible Data Connectivity: Go beyond the integrated database. Five allows you to build applications on top of your existing data infrastructure, whether it's a legacy SQL database or a modern microservice exposed via a REST API. This ensures your new applications can integrate tightly with existing systems.
• Automated Containerized Deployment: Five abstracts away the complexities of modern deployment pipelines. It automatically containerizes applications and manages them using Kubernetes, providing scalability, reliability, and resilience without requiring a dedicated DevOps team.
• Multi-Environment Management: Effortlessly manage the application lifecycle with one-click deployments to distinct development, testing, and production environments. This facilitates a structured and safe process for releasing updates and new features.

Key Capabilities of Five

• Visual Application Builder: A user-friendly interface for rapidly creating forms, charts, dashboards, and user interfaces without writing extensive front-end code.
• Database Management: Tools to design, create, and manage database schemas within the integrated MySQL database or to configure connections to external data sources.
• Integrated Code Editor: A built-in editor that supports SQL, JavaScript, and TypeScript, providing developers with a familiar environment to write and execute custom code.
• API Integration Wizard: Simplifies the process of connecting to and consuming data from external REST APIs and OData endpoints.
• User and Role Management: Differentiates between "developers" who build the application and "end-users" who use it, allowing for clear separation of roles and permissions.
• Automated Deployment Engine: A powerful, single-click system that handles the entire process of packaging, deploying, and hosting the application on a managed cloud infrastructure.

How to Use Five?

Getting started with Five is a straightforward process designed to get developers building quickly. While simple applications can be created with minimal coding, a foundational knowledge of web development concepts is recommended to leverage the platform's full potential.

To begin, new users should sign up for the free, full-featured trial to explore the development environment. For a smooth onboarding experience, it is highly recommended to engage with the available resources, such as the official documentation and the active user community.

For optimal results, developers should have a basic understanding of:

• Relational databases and SQL for data querying and management.
• JavaScript for implementing custom client-side or server-side logic.

This knowledge will enable you to move beyond simple CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) applications and build truly advanced, custom software solutions.

Five Pricing

Five price starts at USD 30 at techjockey.com.

The pricing model is based on different parameters, including extra features, deployment type, and the total number of users. For further queries related to the product, you can contact our product team and learn more about the pricing and offers.