I have always found relationships interesting. In my life now my relationship with my eleven year old daughter consumes much of my time and energy. This mother-daughter relationship is so complex, that I jumped at the chance to tackle the technical client-server relationship. Surely, it is simpler.
In the 1970’s, the pre-personal computer era was ruled by the mainframe computer. In a computerized company at that time the central mainframe connected to “dummy terminals” throughout the building. These terminals functioned largely as remote keyboards and screens that connected to the mainframe which did all of the work. The terminals could not process data independently, so they took turns sharing mainframe time.
When my daughter was an infant our relationship fell squarely in the mainframe mode. When it was time to get dressed in the morning, I selected pink frilly dresses with darling matching bonnets for her to wear. At lunchtime I spooned up pureed peas and carrots for her. At 7:30 pm she was bathed, powdered and tucked into bed. We were clear on my mainframe status.
In the early 1980’s, the personal computer changed the relationship of one computer to another forever. To begin with the personal computer could stand alone to run programs or applications. Despite the power of the personal computer, groups such as businesses recognized that sharing information among computers within the group would be valuable. Personal computers are even more useful when linked together in groups called networks.
The client-server model for networked computers was developed to maintain organization and efficiency in the movement of data among linked computers. Within the network the central computers that store information directly and deliver information to other computers on the network are called servers. The computer, typically a smaller personal computer that requests information is called a client.
The internet is a gigantic network of computers. An example of the client-server model on the internet is the use of the web browser. The web browser is a CLIENT (a requesting) program on your personal computer. When you start your web browser (most commonly Netscape or Internet Explorer) the browser program will send out a request to find a “Homepage” file for you. It will send a request over the phone line to the router at your internet service provider (ISP). The router will route the request to the ISP web SERVER. The web SERVER is a computer that stores all the data files for the “Homepage”, so it sends that information along the network back to the CLIENT (your personal computer!).
This client-server model is different than the phone service which takes a phone call directly from one endpoint to another through a switch. It is different from the TV broadcast which is sending out a one way signal to everyone all the time and you can turn it on or off. Client-server is most akin to pay-per-view technology that sends signals out to a user as they are requested.
My pre-teen daughter and I now have a client-server type relationship. The client/daughter requests and I serve up the answers as best I can. As she reminds me quite often, she is now fully capable of selecting her own clothes and she loathes pink. Her processing power has mushroomed from those dummy terminal days and ours is definitely a relationship with infinitely more complexity and opportunity.
I am just fearful of those teenage years when the rogue virus inserts itself and the client refuses to follow the rules. It’s going to stress the network, I’m sure.
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