m-Power's Build Process

m-Power automates the tedious part of building an application, the architecture, security, and standard features, so your team spends its time customizing each app to the business. Everything it generates is maintainable code, built on the same frameworks and technologies your team already uses.

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Video walkthrough of m-Power's build process Watch the build process video
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Four steps from your data to a working application

m-Power is a development platform that builds web applications over the databases you already run. Creating an application requires no coding, but allows custom code whenever you need it. The whole process comes down to four steps.

Name your application and choose your template

m-Power's pre-built templates come with the architecture and standard features baked in, which eliminates most of the development effort.

  • Development speed: We've done the coding, added the features, and tested every template. You're 80% finished when you start.
  • Responsive: The templates automatically adapt to tablets and smartphones.
  • Customizable: You can customize any template however you wish, or create new templates.

Choose and sort your data

Templates are the foundation for your application, but they need data to function. In this step, you choose the database tables and fields to include in your application. You can join tables together if necessary, and tell m-Power how the data should be sorted within the application.

Optional: Add your logic and filters

This optional step previews your application and lets you add specifications to it:

  • Field settings: Customize the fields you'd like to display.
  • Record selections: Filter the data displayed in your application, or set run-time filters for the user.
  • Calculations: Add calculated fields.
  • External objects: Add custom business logic and custom code.
  • Smartlinks: Link to another m-Power application, passing key data automatically.

Build

When you click "build," m-Power combines your specifications with the selected template to generate the application. The compile process automates these steps:

  • Generates the Java source code, including the SQL database access statements.
  • Compiles the Java source code into a Java servlet program.
  • Creates the HTML presentation file.
  • Creates the XML properties file for application-level options.
  • Deploys the entire package to the application server.
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There are very few instances I've run into with m-Power where I'm hitting a brick wall and the software itself is a limiter. There's very little we can't do with it. Our imagination is the only limiter.

Case Escher, Employee Services Consultant, The Partners Group

After the build

Then customize anything you want

The build is a starting point. m-Painter (m-Power's visual designer) and the Workflow Designer give you unlimited customization options. Here are a few common ways users customize applications after they're built:

Look & feel

You have complete control over your application's look and feel, down to the pixel.

Workflows

Create workflows that are triggered by your application, using the Workflow Designer.

Charts

Add charts and graphs to any application using m-Painter.

Features

Add forms, calendar pop-ups, drop-downs, and much more.

The code itself

Open the code view and edit your application's HTML, CSS, or Java files directly.

Embedded applications

m-Power's Smartlink feature lets you connect your applications, passing key data automatically.

Take a deep dive into the build process

Want to see the build process on a real project? In each of these recorded builds, an m-Power consultant walks through a start-to-finish development project and explains each step along the way.

Video: building a helpdesk portal with m-Power
Video project 1 hr 55 min

Project: helpdesk portal

Ticketing, a calendar, and a dashboard, built as one complete project.

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Video: building a BI and reporting suite with m-Power
Video project 1 hr 38 min

Project: BI and reporting suite

A complete reporting suite over a live database, from raw tables to finished dashboards.

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Video: building a field service management application with m-Power
Video project 2 hr 16 min

Project: field service management

Mapping, scheduling, and mobile data capture for crews in the field.

Watch the build

Build process questions we hear a lot

Don't see yours? Ask us. You'll get an answer from someone who builds with m-Power every day.

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Page updated July 2026

Do I need to know how to code to use m-Power?

No. The build process is template-driven, so non-developers who know their data can build working applications without writing code. Developers can go further: add custom business logic, integrate APIs, or edit the generated code directly. Most teams have both types building side by side.

m-Power generates standard, human-readable Java source code (including the SQL database access statements), compiles it into a Java servlet, creates the HTML presentation and XML properties files, and deploys the whole package to your application server. You own the code it produces.

Yes. m-Painter, m-Power's visual designer, gives you control over the interface, and the Workflow Designer adds process automation. You can also open the code view and edit the application's HTML, CSS, or Java files directly. If you can specify it, there's a way to build it.

Yes. Every template can be customized however you wish, and you can create entirely new templates of your own. The templates come pre-coded, pre-tested, and responsive out of the box, so you start from a working application rather than a blank screen.

m-Power builds over any JDBC-compatible database, including Db2, SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. It works with your existing databases where they already live, so there's no data migration involved in the build process.
See it for yourself

Watch the build process over your data

We'll walk through the build process live, using your data and your use case, and answer any questions your team has.

Get a Demo See the technical specs