Is there a place these days for interfaces like this? I’m thinking about self contained …

I've seen people (non IT) do similar things (i.e. develop small applications) with Excel. I created my bibliographic database with HyperCard. And I still miss it. HyperCard's attractiveness was the easy UI creation. FileMaker wasn't bad, but a bit more limited UI wise. And sqlite, while a phantastic DB misses the easy UI.

> If you’re a small shop and have a need for a little database, what do you use? There's a zillion of under/over-developed solutions. Too much fragmentation for something to get enough traction to reach critical mass? Tricky space.

In the past, we used to refer to these as 4GL systems [1] - and as far as I'm concerned, this is really a wide open field for innovation - especially in the era of AI/LLMs. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth-generation_programming_...

Sure. Oracle APEX is popular. You never hear about it on HN because the target user base for low code stuff doesn't overlap with the HN set much, but it's huge. https://blogs.oracle.com/apex/organizations-ww-chose-apex In that IDC survey it's the most popular low code product, over 2 million apps and half a million developers. There's a SaaS version at apex.oracle.com with a free tier if you want to try it, and you can self-host it as well.

I don't think anyone you're calling a "shop" would do anything business-critical with it, but fwiw, Tiddlywiki fits in this category. https://tiddlywiki.com/