Page 148 - DLIS408_INFORMATION_TECHNOLOGY-APPLICATIONSL SCIENCES

Unit 13: Internet Based Resources and Service Browsers

Notes
Figure 13.1

Figure 13.2

A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an
intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is hosted in a browser-
controlled environment (e.g. a Java applet) or coded in a browser-supported language (such as
JavaScript, combined with a browser-rendered markup language like HTML) and reliant on a
common web browser to render the application executable.
Web applications are popular due to the ubiquity of web browsers, and the convenience of using
a web browser as a client, sometimes called a thin client. The ability to update and maintain web
applications without distributing and installing software on potentially thousands of client
computers is a key reason for their popularity, as is the inherent support for cross-platform
compatibility.

Notes Common web applications include web mail, online retail sales, online auctions,
wikis and many other functions.
In earlier computing models, e.g., in client-server, the load for the application was shared between
code on the server and code installed on each client locally. In other words, an application had its
own client programme which served as its user interface and had to be separately installed on each
user’s personal computer. An upgraded server-side code of the application would typically require
an upgrade client-side code installed on each user workstation, adding to the support cost and
decreasing productivity.
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