Is Client/Server Really Dead?

the-empty-string asks: "Technology fads come and go, but sometimes they do leave behind real systems supporting real business processes. There was a time when 'client/server' was all the rage, and today there are thousands of such systems still in use, happily serving HR departments, providing inventory management, or tracking complex production processes. These days, after 'reusable components', 'three-tier', 'J2EE', and other resume-enhancing keywords, the magic phrase is 'Web services'. Consequently, many companies think they must scrape their existing client/server applications, in order to "move them to the Web". While the advantages of exposing functionality to the outside world are beyond debate, does this mean perfectly good and working applications must be abandoned only because they are client/server, or do they still have a useful role to play? Also, what is the migration strategy you would recommend to your boss or your customer, when these systems have to be replaced no matter what?"

Comments

Re:This is such a stupid question...

[vsync64]

In fact, as we get to more complicated web pages (xforms, etc), and more streamlined client machines, we are ironically regressing back toward the days of 3270 dumb terminals that conneted en-masse to big 360 and 370 main frames.

I agree with the main idea of your post, but you've made an error here which obscures its correctness. The 3270 is not a dumb terminal; in fact, this is what distinguishes it from the VT series and the ANSI X3.64 standard.

The 3270 is a smart terminal with support for forms-based input. The server specifies the types and locations of the fields required, and the terminal draws them, accepts input, and does basic verification, batch-submitting the entire form when complete. Typing lag, therefore, doesn't exist (this fact saved me from going completely insane when Office Depot couldn't keep its network running and thoroughput dropped to ~300bps).

So yes, HTML viewers and 3270 terminals are very much alike, and share many features, drawbacks, and programming issues.