A mobile app development start-up spawned from an open source MIT project has come out with Thunkable, adding to the pantheon of simplified drag-and-drop tools designed to let "anyone" become a coder.

Coding is definitely something we mostly leave to the experts nowadays. After all, learning a whole new programming language is not easy, and that is pretty much what it takes to make an application.

Making an app that works across different mobile platforms was once unthinkable for novice programmers. But Thunkable, a company with roots in MIT, is rolling out a new platform where even kids can ...