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Web applications
are any type of application that uses a web browser as a “client.” Client meaning “computing client,” which refers to a system that accesses a remote service on another computer system, known as a server, by way of a network. In early computing, the term “client” was applied to devices that weren’t capable of running their own stand-alone programs, but could interact with remote computers. These so-called “dumb terminals” were clients of a mainframe computer. The very first mainstream web applications were relatively simple compared to today. In the 1990s, more complex web applications came on the scene, and now millions use web applications, such as those used to file their taxes online. The term “web application” may also mean any computer software application that is hosted in a browser controlled environment, or coded in a browser-supported language, such as JavaScript. Other common web applications include web mail, online retail sales, online auctions and many others. One reason for the popularity of web applications is the ability to update and maintain them without distributing and installing software on potentially thousands upon thousands of client computers.
Web applications are broken into logical chunks called “tiers.” Every tier is assigned a “role.” Traditional web applications consist of only one tier, which resides on the client machine, but the most common form has three tiers. The three tiers are called “presentation,” “application,” and “storage,” in that order. A web browser is the “presentation,” or first tier. Web content technology is the middle tier, such as JSP/JAVA, PHP, ASP, etc.) The second tier is also called “application logic.” The database is the third tier (storage.) There are other more complex web applications, where a 3-tier solution may not work.
Web application benefits:
They don’t require a complex “roll out” procedure to deploy in large organizations. All that is needed is a compatible web browser.
Web applications integrate easily into other procedures such as email and searching.
They require little disk space on the client.
Web applications require no upgrade procedure since all new features are automatically delivered to all users.
In most cases, web applications offer cross-platform compatibility because they operate within a web browser window.
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