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The PC Mag article seems mostly pretty accurate - however, I’d argue that the web isn’t classic client/server, since the server sends the code to the client jus
by noizejoy 6y ago
The PC Mag article seems mostly pretty accurate - however, I’d argue that the web isn’t classic client/server, since the server sends the code to the client just in time. Classic client/server had a totally different code deployment mechanism. It was a full app installation every time - often via sneaker network, since few corporate networks had enough bandwidth to deploy new apps over their network. And installation software infrastructure was almost non-existent. Version control systems? Seldom. Netscape was one of the very first apps that was entirely network delivered at really large scale.
If I had to describe the web to a time traveller from the 1980s, I might say the modern web browser is something like a super smart and capable 3270 terminal, while the cloud is the mainframe.
- C1sc0cat 6y agoI remember just before my first web project. I worked on a Oracle client server project (SMDS management tool) and to install the client, you installed about 4 products via 14 floppy disks one after the other on the client PC. Took two days for two of us to install it on five or six client PC's
- noizejoy 6y agoSo you can probably imagine what it was like when we had several dozens of client pc’s across several customer companies across several cities across the continent.
- C1sc0cat 6y agoOh yes in 94 that was my key take away, you could launch a new system as a website and save a lot on deployment cots on say 500 seats. I recall discussing this with the engineering centre manager about how in 5 -10 years the web could replace fat clients on PC's
- JackFr 6y ago> Version control systems? Seldom. SCCS ftw!