MODULE 5

Client/Server Technology and

Web Services
Web Services History

➢The World Wide Web was developed by

Tim Berners-Lee for his employer CERN or
the European Organization for Nuclear
Research between 1989-1991.
➢ In 1990, he wrote the program for the
World Wide Web. This program created the
first web browser and HTML editor. It was the
first program to use both FTP and HTTP.
➢ FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is used to
transfer data over a network. HTTP is the
protocol that supports hyper-text documents.
Both of these protocols are necessary for
communication over the Internet or World
Wide Web.

➢The source code for the World Wide Web

was made public in 1993, making it
available to everyone with a computer.
The technology continued to develop and
between 1991-1994, extended from
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 communication only between scientific
organizations, to universities and, finally,
to industry.

➢The first web server, also written by

Berners-Lee, ran on NeXTSTEP, the
operating system for NeXT computers.

➢The other technology authored by

Berners-Lee that is required for Web
communication is URLs (Universal
Resource Locators).

➢ Berners-Lee is also responsible for

writing the initial specifications for HTML.
The first web server was installed in the
United States on December 12, 1991

➢ In 1994, Berners-Lee created the

World Wide Web Consortium (WWC) to
regulate and standardize the various
technologies required for Web construction
and communication.

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 ➢After 2000, the web exploded. Till date,
there exist more than 110 million web
sites on the World Wide Web.

Web Server Technology

At the most basic level, the process for web

communication works as follows:
• a computer runs a web browser that allows it
to request, communicate and display HTML
documents (web pages).
• Web browsers are the software applications
that allow users to access and view these web
pages and they run on individual computers.
• The most popular web browsers are Internet
Explorer, Mozilla, Firefox, and Safari (for Mac).
• After typing in the URL (or address) and
pressing return, the request is sent to a server
machine that runs the web server.
• The web server is the program that delivers
the files that make up web pages.
Every web site or computer that creates a web
site requires a web server. The most popular
web server program is Apache.
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 The server machine then returns the
requested web page. See the Fig. 8.1(a) and
8.1(b), depicting the Web Technology
yesterday and today.

HTTP Request
Internet
Browser
File
Web
HTML System
Server

Fig. 8.1(a): Web Technology Yesterday

HTTP Request

Internet
Browser
Web Database
Static / Dynamic

Web Pages CGI Program Server

&

CGI Scripts

Fig. 8.1(b): Web Technology Today

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Communication over the Internet can be broken
down into two interested parties:
clients and servers.
The machines providing services are servers.
Clients are the machines used to connect to those
services.
For example, the personal computer requesting
web pages according to search parameters
(defined by key words) does not provide any
services to other computers. This is the client.
If the client requests a search from, for example,
the search engine Yahoo!. Yahoo! is the server,
providing the hardware machinery to service the
request. As previously mentioned, each computer
requesting information over the Internet requires
a web server program like Apache to render the
search result intelligible in HTML.

Web servers translate URL path components in

local file systems. The URL path is dependent on
the server’s root directory. The root directory is the
top directory of a file system that usually exists
hierarchically as an inverted tree.
The typical client request reads, for example,
“http://www.example.com/path/file.html”. This
client web browser translates this request through
an HTTP request and by connecting to
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“www.example.com”, in this case. The web server
will then add the requested path to its root
directory path. The result is located in the server’s
local file system or hierarchy of directories. The
server reads the file and responds to the browser’s
request. The response contains the requested
documents, in this case, web sites and the
constituent pages.

Web Browser (Web Client)

A browser is a software (the most popular web
browsers are Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox,
Safari, Opera, and Netscape) that acts as an
interface between the user and the inner workings
of the internet, specifically the Word Wide Web .

Browsers are also referred to as web clients, or

Universal Clients, because in the Client/Server
model, the browser functions as the client
program.

The browser acts on behalf of the user.

The browser:
• Contacts a web server and sends a request for

information.
• Receives the information and then displays it on

the user’s computer.

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 A browser can be text-based or graphical and can
make the internet easier to use.
The WWW incorporates hypertext, photographs,
sound, video, etc. that can be fully experienced
through a graphical browser.
Accessing Database on the Web Page
Generally, it has been observed that a remote
user’s web browser cannot get connected directly
with database system.
But in most of the cases, the browsers are a
program running on the web server that is an
intermediary to the database.
This program can be a Common Gateway
Interface (CGI) script, a Java servlet, or some code
that lives inside an Active Server Page (ASP) or Java
Server Page (JSP) document. The program
retrieves the information from the page is an
ordinary HTML document or the output of some
script that Web-based database system.

Step1: The user types in a URL or fills out a form

or submits a search on a Web page and
clicks the Submit button.
Step 2: The browser sends the user’s query from
the browser to the Web server, which passes
it on to a CGI script.
Step 3: The CGI script loads a library that lets it
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 talk to an SQL database server, and it uses
that library to send SQL commands to the
database server.
Step 4: The database server executes the SQL
commands and sends the request
information to the CGI script.
Step 5: The CGI script generates an HTML
document and writes the HTML document
to the Web server.
Step 6: The Web server sends the HTML page
back to the remote user.

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 1 6

User submits a User The Web Server

query using the sends the
Web Browser to
the Web Server HTML

document to
the user

2 Web Server

Web Server 5
sends the query
Variable to the The CGI script
CGI script generates an

HTML

document and
sends it to the
Web server

3
CGI Script
Web Server
sends the query
4
Variable to the Database
CGI script The Database
server executes
the SQL

commands and

passes the results

to the CGI Script

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 Fig. 8.2: Information Exchange between User and a Web-based Database

If the user has send some information to

update a database. Then the CGI Script will
generate the appropriate SQL commands and send
it to the database server. The database server will
execute the SQL commands and then inform the
user about the result of execution.

Web Server
A computer that runs a software program that is
responsible for accepting HTTP requests from
clients, which are known as web browsers, and
serving them HTTP responses along with
optional data contents, which usually are web
pages such as HTML documents and linked
objects (images, etc.).

HTTP: Every web server program operates by

accepting HTTP requests from the client, and
providing an HTTP response to the client.

The HTTP response usually consists of an

HTML document, but can also be a raw file, an
image, or some other type of document (defined
by MIME(Multipurpose Internet Mail
extensions),a media type); if some error is found
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in client request or while trying to serve the
request, a web server has to send an error
response which may include some custom HTML
or text messages to better explain the problem to
end users.

Logging:web servers have also the capability

of logging(the process of capturing,storing and
displaying datasets for some activities)some
detailed information, about client requests and
server responses, to log files; this allows the
webmaster to collect statistics by running log
analyzers on log files.

In practice many web servers implement the

following features also:
• Authentication, optional authorization
request (request of user name and
password) before allowing access to some or
all kind of resources.
• Handling of not only static content (file

content recorded in server’s filesystem(s))

but of dynamic content too by supporting
one or more related interfaces (SSI, CGI, SCGI,
FastCGI, JSP, PHP, ASP, ASP.NET, Server API
such as NSAPI, ISAPI, etc.).
• HTTPS support (by SSL or TLS) to allow

secure (encrypted) connections to the

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 server on the standard port 443 instead of
usual port 80.
• Content compression (i.e., by gzip encoding)
to reduce the size of the responses (to lower
bandwidth usage, etc.).
• Virtual hosting to serve many web sites using
one IP address.
• Large file support to be able to serve files
whose size is greater than 2 GB on 32 bit OS.
• Bandwidth throttling to limit the speed of
responses in order to not saturate the
network and to be able to serve more clients.

Web servers must also be able to manage static

and dynamic content. Static content exists as a
file in a file system. Dynamic content is content
(text, images, form fields) on a web page that
changes according to specific contexts or
conditions.
Dynamic content is produced by some other
program or script (a user-friendly programming
language that connects existing components to
execute a specific task) or API (Application
Programming Interface the web server calls
upon).
It is much slower to load than static content
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since it often has to be pulled from a remote
database. It provides a greater degree of user
interactivity and tailor responses to user
requests.
To handle dynamic content, web servers must
support at least any one of interface like JSP
(Java Server Pages), PHP (a programming
language that creates dynamic web pages), ASP
(Active Server Pages) or ASP.NET (it is the
successor of ASP).
Web Server Communication
Web servers are one of the end points in
communication through the World Wide Web.
The World Wide Web is the global structure of
electronically connected information. It refers to
the global connections between computers that
allow users to search for documents or web
pages by requesting results from a web server.

These documents are hyper-text based (written

in HTML- Hypertext Markup Language),
allowing users to travel to other pages and
extend theirresearch through links.
They are delivered in a standardized protocol,
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol, usually
written in lower case letters), making HTML
documents intelligible across hardware and
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software variations.

This information travels through web servers

and web browsers. The communication initiates
from a user request through a web browser.
The request is delivered to a web server in
‘HTTP’ format. The server then processes the
request, which can be anything from a general
search to a specific task, and returns the results
in the same format.
The results are written in HTML, which is the
language web pages are written in that supports
high-speed travel between web pages.
HTML is also essential for displaying many of
the interactive features on web pages, such as
linking web pages to other objects, like images.
An important distinction when defining web
servers is between hardware and software.
A web server is also a computer program
(software) that performs the functions outlined
above.

ROLE OF JAVA FOR CLIENT/SERVER ON

WEB

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 ➢ Client server models provide the essential
mechanisms for working with the Internet.
➢ In client server models the web browsers run by
millions of users are the clients. On the other side
of the equation, is the web hosting systems that
run at host sites and provide access to processes
and data requested by the client.These hosting
systems are the server.
➢ This definition is based on software programs,
where the client is a program running on a
remote machine that communicates with a
server, a program running at a single site and
providing responses to client requests, such as
web pages or data.
➢ Java is a programming language that has been
developed specifically for the distributed
environment of the Internet.
➢ Java, like C++, is a language that is multi-
paradigm and supports object-oriented
programming (OOP), procedural programming,
and data abstraction.
➢ Object-oriented programming is
increasingly being used in client server
technology.
➢ It refers to a programming language
model that is organized by objects rather than
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actions, data rather than logic. OOP identifies
objects (sets of data) and defines their
relationship to each other. These objects are
then generalized into a class.
➢ Methods or sequences of logic are applied
to classes of objects. Methods provide
computational instructions and class object
features provide the data that is acted upon.
➢ Users communicate with objects and
objects with each other through specifically
defined interfaces called messages.
➢ Java can create applications that are
distributed between clients and servers in a
network. Java source code (signaled by .java
extension) is compiled (source code
transformed into object code) into byte code
(signaled by .class extension). A Java interpreter
then executes this byte code format. Java
interpreters and runtime environment run on
Java Virtual Machines (JVMs).
➢ The portability and usability that
characterizes Java stems from the fact that JVMs
exist for most operating systems, from UNIX, to
Windows, to Mac OS.
Java is one of the most well-suited languages
for working on the World Wide Web and the
client server .
To understand how Java is used in client
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server systems it becomes essential to
understand the major characteristics of Java.

Syntactic of Java are similarity to C and C++

languages,

Java is also a robust programming language,

which means it creates software that will
identify and correct errors and handle abnormal
conditions intelligently.

Another major characteristic of Java is that it is

object oriented programming,
OOP is characterized by three properties also
present in Java programming: inheritance,
encapsulation, and polymorphism.
Multi threading is also an important
characteristic of Java that increases interactive
responsiveness and real time performance.
Threading is the way a program splits or forks
itself into two or more tasks running
simultaneously.

This allows for thread based multi tasking.

Multi threading creates the effect of multiple
threads running in parallel on different
machines simultaneously.
Socket-based Client Server Systems in Java
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 Java builds client server systems with sockets.
Sockets are the endpoints of two-way
communication between programs running in a
network. They are software objects that connect
applications to network protocols, so they
become intelligible.

For example, in UNIX a program opens a

socket that enables it to send and receive
messages from the socket. This simplifies
software development because programmers
only have to change or specify the socket, while
the operating system is left intact.
In client/server models, the server contains
sockets bound to specific port numbers. Port
numbers identify specific processes that are to
be forwarded over a network, like the Internet,
in the form of messages to the server. The server
only has to monitor the socket and respond
when a client requests a connection.

Once connections have been made and bound

to port numbers, the two endpoints, client and
server, can communicate through the socket.
Java sockets are client side sockets, known
simply as sockets and server side sockets known
as server sockets. Each belong to their own class
within a Java package. The client initiates the
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socket, which contains a host name and port
number, by requesting connections.
The server socket class in Java allows for
servers to monitor requests for connections. As
the socket communicates over the network,
Java’s server socket class assigns a one port
number to each client in the server and creates a
socket object or instance.

This server socket instance creates a

connection and produces a thread or string of
processes through which the server can
communicate with the client through the socket.
Java web servers are built according to this
model. TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
works in conjunction with IP (Internet Protocol)
to send messages between computers over the
Internet.

When communicating over the Internet, the

client program and the server program each
attach a socket to their end of the connection.
Then the client and server can read from and
write to the socket. Java provides operating
system sockets that allow two or more processes
to send and receive data, regardless of computer
location.
Java’s RMI System
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 The other method for using Java to build client
server systems is RMI. RMI stands for Remote
Method Invocation. By using Java language and
functions, programmers write object oriented
programming, so that objects that are
distributed over a network can interact with
each other.
RMI allows for client objects in JVMs to
request services through a network from
another computer (host or server). Client objects
included with the request may call upon
methods in the remote computer that change the
results.
Methods are programmed procedures
attributed to a class that are contained in each of
its objects (or instances). It is a characteristic of
object-oriented programming.
Classes and, therefore, objects can have more
than one method and methods can be used for
more than one object. Responses then run as if
they were local (on the same computer.) This
passing back and forth of objects and methods
attached to objects is called ‘object
serializations’.
Simply put, RMI requests call upon the
method of a remote object. As previously stated,
it uses the same syntax it would locally. To make
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this intelligible to the servers or sites being
called upon requires three layers: a client side
stub program, a remote reference layer, and a
transport connection layer. Each request travels
down the layers of the client computer and up
the layers of the server.
The client side stub program initiates the
request. Stub programs are small sections of
programs containing routines from larger
programs. It is a substitute for programs that
may take too long to load or are located remotely
on a network. They are provided by the server at
the client’s request.
Stubs accept client requests and communicate
requested procedures (through another
program) to remote applications. They also
return the results to the client or requesting
program. These stubs mimic the program being
called for service.
In Java, stub programs are also referred to as
‘proxy’. Remote reference layers manage
reference variables for remote objects, using the
transport layer’s TCP (Transmission Control
Protocol) connection to the server. Reference
variables contain class data and therefore
include methods.

The transport layer protects and maintains end

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to end communication through a network. The
most used transport layer is TCP. After the client
requests pass through the transport layer, they
pass through another remote reference layer
before requesting implementation of the request
by the server from a skeleton. These skeletons
are written in high level IDL (Interface Definition
Language).
The server receives the request and sends the
response along the same channels, but in the
other direction.

WEB SERVICES

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 • A web service is an internet-based interface that makes the
“services” of an application available to other applications
running on different platforms.

• A microservice is a small, independent application that performs

a highly focused service within a larger application.

• Each microservice is a modular, unique process that can be

developed and deployed independently.

The main difference between the two is that a web service requires a
network to function. As the name implies, web services operate on the
World Wide Web, providing a service to other applications running on
the internet.

On the other hand, microservices operate within a single application,

providing services within that app’s framework.

Some basic definitions of microservices and web services are:

• Microservice: A small, autonomous application that performs a

specific service for a larger application architecture.
• Web service: A strategy to make the services of one application
available to other applications via a web interface.

• Microservices application architecture: A modular, services-

oriented application architecture comprised of loosely connected,
independently running microservices. These microservices
usually offer APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), so
other microservices and apps can integrate with them.
• Web services application architecture: A modular, services-
oriented application architecture where the applications that
comprise the architecture connect via web services.

• Developers can use web services to connect microservices,

monolithic applications, and more to form a larger application.

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 What is an API?
APIs are mechanisms that enable two software components to
communicate with each other using a set of definitions and protocols.

API stands for Application Programming Interface. In the context of

APIs, the word Application refers to any software with a distinct
function. Interface can be thought of as a contract of service between
two applications.

This contract defines how the two communicate with each other using
requests and responses. Their API documentation contains information
on how developers are to structure those requests and responses.
How do APIs work?
API architecture is usually explained in terms of client and server. The
application sending the request is called the client, and the application
sending the response is called the server. So in the weather example,
the bureau’s weather database is the server, and the mobile app is the
client.
There are four different ways that APIs can work depending on when
and why they were created.
SOAP APIs
These APIs use Simple Object Access Protocol. Client and server
exchange messages using XML. This is a less flexible API that was more
popular in the past.
RPC APIs
These APIs are called Remote Procedure Calls. The client completes a
function (or procedure) on the server, and the server sends the output
back to the client.
Websocket APIs
Websocket API is another modern web API development that uses
JSON objects(JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is a standard text-
based format for representing structured data based on
JavaScript object syntax. )to pass data.
A WebSocket API supports two-way communication between client
apps and the server.
The server can send callback messages to connected clients, making it
more efficient than REST API.
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 REST APIs
These are the most popular and flexible APIs found on the web today.
The client sends requests to the server as data. The server uses this
client input to start internal functions and returns output data back to
the client.
API GATEWAYS

Application programming interfaces (APIs) are the most common way

to connect users, applications, and services to each other in a modern
IT environment. An API gateway is a component of the app-delivery
infrastructure

For microservices-based applications, an API gateway acts as a single

point of entry into the system. It sits in front of the microservices and
simplifies both the client implementations and the microservices app
by decoupling the complexity of an app from its clients.

In a microservices architecture, the API gateway is responsible for

request routing, composition, and policy enforcement. It handles some
requests by simply routing them to the appropriate backend service,
and handles others by invoking multiple backend services and
aggregating the results.

An API gateway might provide other capabilities for microservices such

as authentication, authorization, monitoring, load balancing, and
response handling, offloading implementation of non-functional
requirements to the infrastructure layer and helping developers to
focus on core business logic, speeding up app releases.

Web Services Authentication

When users send a request for a web service, they're authenticated

according to the credential type that is configured for Business Central
Server. To access a web service, users must provide valid credentials
for the credential type being used.

Common API authentication methods

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While there are dozens of open and proprietary API authentication
methods available, there are four common methods most
administrators will see and interact with over the course of their
professional career.

1. HTTP basic authentication

If a simple form of HTTP authentication is all an app or service
requires, HTTP basic authentication might be a good fit. It uses a locally
derived username and password and relies on Base64 encoding.
Authentication uses the HTTP header, making it easy to integrate.
Because this method uses shared credentials, however, it's important
to rotate passwords on a regular basis.

2. API access tokens

API keys have unique identifiers for each user and for every time they
attempt to authenticate. Access tokens are suitable for applications
where many users require access. Access tokens are secure and easy to
work with from an end-user perspective.

3. OAuth with OpenID

Despite having auth in the name, OAuth is not an authentication
mechanism. Instead, it provides authorization services to determine
which users have access to various corporate resources.

OAuth is used alongside OpenID, an authentication mechanism. Using

OAuth and OpenID together provides authentication and authorization.
With OAuth 2.0, OpenID can authenticate users and devices using a
third-party authentication system. This combination is considered one
of the more secure authentication/authorization options available
today.

4. SAML federated identity

Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is another tokenlike
authentication method often used in environments that have federated
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 single sign-on (SSO) implemented. This XML-derived open standard
framework helps seamlessly authenticate users through the
organization's respective identity provider. For larger organizations
working to consolidate the number of authentication mechanisms
within the company, the use of SAML and federated SSO is a great fit.

Choosing the right API authentication mechanism

When choosing the type of API authentication mechanism to
implement, there are three factors to consider:

1. Understand what API authentication methods are available in your

given API framework.
2. Choose the API authentication that provides the proper level of
security without being overly complex.
3. From an ongoing administration and management perspective,
choose the API authentication method that fits into your existing,
corporatewide authentication infrastructure.

What is Token-based Authentication for Web APIs?

Token-based authentication for web APIs is the process of

authenticating users or processes for applications in the cloud.

The user’s application sends a request to the authentication service,

which confirms the user’s identity and issues a token.
The user is then able to access the application.

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 • What is a Token-based Authentication?
• Token-based authentication is a two-step authentication strategy
to enhance the security mechanism for users to access a network.
The users once register their credentials, receive a unique
encrypted token that is valid for a specified session time. During
this session, users can directly access the website or application
without login requirements. It enhances the user experience by
saving time and security by adding a layer to the password
system.
• A token is stateless as it does not save information about the user
in the database. This system is based on cryptography where
once the session is complete the token gets destroyed. So, it gets
the advantage against hackers to access resources using
passwords.
• The most friendly example of the token is OTP (One Time
password) which is used to verify the identity of the right user to
get network entry and is valid for 30-60 seconds. During the
session time, the token gets stored in the organization’s database
and vanishes when the session expired.

How does Token-based Authentication work?

4 steps

1. Request: The user intends to enter the service with login

credentials on the application or the website interface. The
credentials involve a username, password, smartcard, or
biometrics

2. Verification: The login information from the client-server is sent to

the authentication server for verification of valid users trying to enter
the restricted resource. If the credentials pass the verification the
server generates a secret digital key to the user via HTTP in the form of
a code. The token is sent in a JWT open standard format which
includes-
• Header: It specifies the type of token and the signing algorithm.
• Payload: It contains information about the user and other data

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• Signature: It verifies the authenticity of the user and the messages
transmitted.

2. Token validation: The user receives the token code and enters it
into the resource server to grant access to the network. The
access token has a validity of 30-60 seconds and if the user fails
to apply it can request the Refresh token from the authentication
server. There’s a limit on the number of attempts a user can make
to get access. This prevents brute force attacks that are based on
trial and error methods.

3. Storage: Once the resource server validated the token and grants
access to the user, it stores the token in a database for the session
time you define. The session time is different for every website or
app. For example, Bank applications have the shortest session
time of about a few minutes only.

What is an API key?”. Application programming interfaces

(APIs) allow software programs to interact, share data, and integrate
their functionalities. API keys are one such security measure — they
act like an ID card for the client making an API request, helping APIs
assign the proper access permissions and track how their data are
being used.

An API key is an identifier assigned to an API client, used to

authenticate an application calling the API. It is typically a unique
alphanumeric string included in the API call, which the API receives
and validates. Many APIs use keys to keep track of usage and identify
invalid or malicious requests.

API Keys: API Keys came into picture due to slow speed and highly
vulnerable nature of HTTP Basic Authentication. API Key is the code
that is assigned to the user upon API Registration or Account Creation.
API Keys are generated using the specific set of rules laid down by the
authorities involved in API Development. This piece of code is required
to pass whenever the entity (Developer, user or a specific program)
makes a call to the API. Despite easy usage and fast speed, they are

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highly insecure.

Service Mesh

is a mechanism for managing communications between the

various individual services that make up modern applications in a
microservice-based system.

When a service mesh is applied, all inter-service communication is

routed through proxies, which can be used to implement networking
features such as encryption and load balancing. The service mesh
decouples the network logic from the application or business logic of
each microservice so that it can be implemented and managed
consistently across the whole system.

The dedicated infrastructure layer of the service mesh is something of

a complimentary piece of technology to an API gateway. But a service
mesh only handles communication between services that make up a
system, while an API gateway decouples the underlying system from
the API that is exposed to clients (which can be other systems within
the organization or external clients).

The difference between API gateway vs service mesh is sometimes

characterized as north-south (API gateway) versus east-west (service
mesh) communication, but that’s not strictly accurate.

While the service mesh pattern was designed to handle network

connectivity between microservices, it can also be applied to other
architectures (monolithic, mini-services, serverless) wherever there
are multiple services communicating across a network.

service mesh is a dedicated infrastructure layer built into an

application that controls service-to-service communication in a
microservices architecture. It controls the delivery of service requests
to other services, performs load balancing, encrypts data, and discovers
other services.

Although you can code the logic that governs communication directly
into the microservices, a service mesh abstracts that logic into a
parallel layer of infrastructure using a proxy called a sidecar, which
runs alongside each service.
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Sidecar proxies make up a service mesh’s data plane, which manages
the exchange of data between services. Management processes make
up the control plane, which coordinates the proxies’ behavior. The
control plane also provides an API so operators can easily manage
traffic control, network resiliency, security and authentication, and
custom telemetry data for each service.

From a secure communications standpoint, service meshes are useful

for managing the secure TLS (mTLS) connections between services.

Because service meshes manage the communication layer, they allow

developers to focus on adding business value with each service they
build, rather than worrying about how each service communicates with
all other services.

What is a Message Queue?

A message queue is a form of asynchronous service-to-service
communication used in serverless and microservices architectures.
Messages are stored on the queue until they are processed and deleted.
Each message is processed only once, by a single consumer. Message
queues can be used to decouple heavyweight processing, to buffer or
batch work, and to smooth spiky workloads.

Message queues provide communication and coordination for these

distributed applications. Message queues can significantly simplify
coding of decoupled applications, while improving performance,
reliability and scalability.

Message queues allow different parts of a system to communicate and

process operations asynchronously. A message queue provides a
lightweight buffer which temporarily stores messages, and endpoints
that allow software compone

The messages are usually small, and can be things like requests, replies,
error messages, or just plain information. To send a message, a
component called a producer adds a message to the queue. The
message is stored on the queue until another component called a
consumer retrieves the message and does something with it.

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Many producers and consumers can use the queue, but each message is
processed only once, by a single consumer. For this reason, this
messaging pattern is often called one-to-one, or point-to-point,
communications.
Software as a service(SaaS)

It is the idea that clients access and use software using a thin client or
a web browser. The software itself is running on computers accessible
through the Internet ("in the cloud"). Clients usually pay a fee to get
access to the software.

The benefit of this approach is that clients do not need to manage the
software installation, and that they also do not need expensive
hardware.

Software providers do not need to use traditional methods of supply,

such as distributors, to sell software to clients. One of the problems is
that the data is also on the site of the company running the software -
that is "in the cloud". Getting the data may be difficult, if the software
vendor goes bankrupt.

Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation considers SaaS as a

violation of the principles of free software, because users have no
access to the program that runs the software, and hence do not know
what it does, and cannot change it.

SaaS is a licensing model in which access to software is provided on a

subscription basis, where the software is located on external servers
rather than on servers located in-house.

Software as a Service is commonly accessed through a web browser,

with users logging into the system using a username and password.
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Instead of each user having to install the software on their computer,
the user can access the program via the internet.

• Software as a Service (SaaS) is a software licensing model, which

allows access to software on a subscription basis using external
servers.
• SaaS allows each user to access programs via the Internet,
instead of having to install the software on the user's computer.
• SaaS has many business applications, including file sharing, email,
calendars, customer retention management, and human
resources.
• SaaS is easy to implement, easy to update and debug, and can be
less expensive than purchasing multiple software licenses for
multiple computers.
• Drawbacks to the adoption of SaaS include data security, speed of
delivery, and lack of control.
SaaS Advantages
• Accessible from anywhere
• Cost effective
• Easy to implement, update, and debug
• Easy to scale

SaaS Disadvantages
• Increased security risks
• Slower speed
• Loss of control
• Lack of customization

Examples of SaaS
• Google Docs

• Dropbox

WebSocket

It is a persistent bi-directional communication channel between a

client (e.g. a browser) and a backend service. WebSocket: WebSocket is
bidirectional, a full-duplex protocol that is used in the same scenario of
client-server communication, unlike HTTP it starts
from ws:// or wss://.

It is a stateful protocol, which means the connection between client and

server will keep alive until it is terminated by either party (client or
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server). After closing the connection by either of the client and server,
the connection is terminated from both ends.

In contrast with HTTP request/response connections, websockets can

transport any number of protocols and provide server-to-
client message delivery without polling.

WebSockets establish TCP-style connections in a browser-compatible

fashion using HTTP during initial setup.

Messages over websockets can be provided in any protocol, freeing the

application from the sometimes unnecessary overhead of HTTP
requests and responses (including headers, cookies, and other
artifacts).

WebSockets are available on many platforms, including the most

common browsers and mobile devices. They're often applied to solve
problems of millisecond-accurate state synchronization and publish-
subscribe messaging, both of which leverage Websockets' provision for
downstream pushes.

A challenge of operating a WebSocket-based system is the maintenance

of a stateful gateway on the backend. A WebSocket is erected by
making a common HTTP request to that server with
an Upgrade header, which the server (after authentating and
authorizing the client) should confirm in its response. After this, the
connection remains established between that physical client-server
pair; if at some point the service needs to be redeployed or the load
redistributed, its WebSocket connections needs to be re-established.

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 When can a web socket be used:

• Real-time web application: Real-time web application uses a web

socket to show the data at the client end, which is continuously being
sent by the backend server. In WebSocket, data is continuously
pushed/transmitted into the same connection which is already open,
that is why WebSocket is faster and improves the application
performance.
• Gaming application: In a Gaming application, you might focus on that,
data is continuously received by the server, and without refreshing
the UI, it will take effect on the screen, UI gets automatically
refreshed without even establishing the new connection, so it is very
helpful in a Gaming application.

• Chat application: Chat applications use WebSockets to establish the

connection only once for exchange, publishing, and broadcasting the
message among the subscribers. It reuses the same WebSocket
connection, for sending and receiving the message and for one-to-one
message transfer.

TRANSFORMATIONAL SYSTEM

The working environment of many of the organizations has been greatly affected by
applications of Client/Server technologies. Following are the examples of technologies that
have changed the trade processes.
(i) Electronic mail.
(ii) Client/server and user security.
(iii) Object oriented technology: CORBA.
(iv) Electronic data interchange.

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Electronic Mail
Electronic mail is already the most heavily used network application
in the corporate world. It is a facility that allows users at workstations
and terminals to compose and exchange messages.

However, the traditional e-mail is generally limited and inflexible.

Intranet mail products provide standards, simple methods for
attaching documents, sound, images, and other multimedia to mail
messages.
The simplest form of electronic mail is the single system facility
allowing the users of a shared computer system to exchange
messages (see the Fig. 9.4 (a) given ). The electronic mail facility is an
application program available to any user logged onto the system. A
user may invoke the electronic mail facility, prepare a message, and
“send” it to any other user on the system.

The act of sending simply involves putting the message in the

recipient’s mailbox. Mailbox is actually an entity maintained by the
file management system and is in nature of a file directory. Any
incoming mail is simply stored as a file under that user’s mailbox
directory. One mailbox is associated with each user.

With a single system electronic mail facility, messages can only be

exchanged among users of that particular system. For a distributed
mail system, a number of mail handlers (mail servers) connect over a
network facility (e.g., WAN or internet) and exchange mail. That is
illustrated in Fig. 9.4(b) given below:

Mail Server
Workstations

Network

Mail Box

(a) Single System (b) Networks of Mail System

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 Fig. 9.4: Electronic Mail Configurations

Intranet mail system creates and manages an electronic mailing list that is an alias to
multiple destinations.

Client/Server and User Security

However, the very characteristic that make Client/Server popular are

also what make it the most vulnerable to breaches in security. It is
precisely the distribution of services between client and server that open
them up to damage, fraud, and misuse.
Security consideration must include the host systems, personal
computers (PCs), Local Area Networks (LANs), Global Wide Area
Networks (WANs), and users.

Because security investments don’t produce immediately visible returns

and Client/Server buyers sometimes don’t educate themselves about
security, this area of development is often overlooked until a problem
occurs.

Desktops are the front-end system devices, the ones that deal most
directly with user input.

They are also the least secure environments in Client/Server models.

Clients connect to servers and these connections, if left open or not

secured, provide entry points for hackers and other intruders that may
use data for nefarious purposes.

Aside from physical client security in the form of disk drive locks or
diskless workstations that prohibit the loading of unauthorized software
or viruses, accessibility to all files stored on a workstation
operating system is the other gaping security hole in clients.

For example, the machine assumes that whoever turns on the

computer is the owner of all the files stored on it. They even have access
to configuration files. This could result in sabotage or the leaking of
sensitive data.

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 The transmission of corrupted data may also occur on the level of the
operating system, outside the realm of Client/Server application security,
as data is transferred to different tiers of the architecture.
However, the primary culprits of breaching client security are not
hackers or viruses, but the users themselves. The front-line of defense in
client security is user identification and authentication.

The easiest way to gain illegal access to computers is to get users’ login
ID and passwords. Sometimes users pick short or easily guessed
passwords or share their passwords with others.
Password management provides a security measurement for this by
requiring a minimum amount of characters to be used in passwords
checking passwords for guess ability, and regularly asking users to
change their passwords.
For example, more organizations are adopting policies of ‘pass
phrases’ rather than passwords that are more complicated and harder to
identify or guess. The system contains a scheme (minimalist, multi-
paradigm programming language) that proactively detects and blocks
spyware. It also updates daily.

Gateways are nodes on a network that create entrances to other

networks. It routes traffic from workstations to broader networks.
Therefore, securing the gateways will prevent malware from ever
reaching the client.
Using Client/Server computing some of the secure systems can also
be implemented, having a goal to provide secure services to clients with
maximum possible performance.
Emergency response vehicle can be quickly dispatched by dispatch
operator to an incident and at the same time dealing can also be
reported over the phone. This functionality can be provided 24 hours. It
is now possible to duplicate all of the functionality of such an existing
traditional design with the additional advantages of better performance,
a Graphical User Interface (GUI), a single point of contact, higher
reliability, and lower costs. With the help of a Client/Server-based
system, the dispatch operator is empowered to oversee how staff and
equipment are allocated to each incident.

The operator uses a GUI to dynamically alter vehicle selection and

routing. Maps may be displayed that show the location of all incidents,
emergency response centers, and vehicles.
Vehicles are tracked using Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL)
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technology. Obstacles, such as traffic congestion, construction, and
environmental damage (such as earthquakes) are shown on the map so
the dispatcher can see potential problems at a glance. Workstation
technology provides the dispatcher with a less stressful and more
functional user interface.
The dispatcher can respond quickly to changes in the environment
and communicate this information immediately to the vehicle operator.
The system is remarkably fault-tolerant. If a single workstation is
operating, the dispatcher can continue to send emergency vehicles to
the incident.

Object-oriented Technology: CORBA

As object oriented technology becomes more prevalent in operating system design; Client/
Server designers have begun to embrace this approach. Here client and servers ship messages
back and forth between objects. Object communication may rely on an underlying message
or Remote Procedure Call (RPC) structure or be developed directly on top of object oriented
capabilities in the operating system. Clients that need a service send a request to an object
request broker, which acts as a directory of all the remote services available on the network.
The broker calls the appropriate object and passes along any relevant data. Then the remote
object services the request and replies to the broker, which returns the response to the client.
There are several object oriented approach for standardization of these object mechanism
are COM (Common Object Model), OLE (Object Linking and Embedding), Common Object
Request Broker Architecture (CORBA, see the Fig. 9.5).
Client Server

Object
request
Application broker

Object
Transport

Transport

Transport
Network

Network

Server
Remote Object Object
Object
Requester
requests Network requests
response response

Fig. 9.5: Object Request Broker

An Overview of CORBA
The Object Management Group (OMG) was created in 1989. The OMG solicited input from
all segments of the industry and eventually defined the CORBA standards.
CORBA specification has been implemented by numerous hardware and system software
manufacturers, provides a rich and robust framework that operates across the heterogeneous
computing platform. CORBA is a specification for an emerging technology known as
distributed object management (DOM). DOM technology provides a higher level, object
oriented interface on top of the basic distributed computing services.
At its most basic level, CORBA defines a standard framework from which an information
system implementer or software developer can easily and quickly integrate network resident
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software modules and applications to create new, more powerful applications. It combines
object technology with a Client/Server model to provide a uniform view of an enterprise
computing system-everything on the network is an object. The highest level specification
is referred to as the object management architecture (OMA), which addresses four
architectural elements (ORB, CORBA services, CORBA facilities and CORBA domains are

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also defined as a part of specifications. The term CORBA is often used to refer to the object
request broker itself, as well as to the entire OMG architecture.
The role of ORB is to route request among the other architectural components. CORBA
services, CORBA facilities and CORBA domains are also defined as a part of specifications. The
key to integrating application object is the specification of standard interfaces using the
interface definition language (IDL). Once all applications and data have an IDL-compliant
interface, communication is independent of physical location, platform type, networking
protocol, and programming language. An information system is created by using CORBA
to mediate the flow of control and information among these software objects.
CORBA an Introduction
Mechanism that allows various clients to share/call the object (applications) over a mixed
network, more specifically CORBA is a process of moving objects over network providing
cross platform for data transfer.
CORBA compliance provides a high degree of portability. Within CORBA, objects are
an identifiable entity which provides one or more services to clients. CORBA manages the
identity and location of the objects, transport the request to the target object, and confirms
that the request is carried out. A client that needs a service sends a request to an object
request broker (which acts as a directory) of all the remote services available on the network,
illustrated in Fig. 9.6.
The broker calls the appropriate object and passes along any relevant data, and then
the remote object services the request and replies to the broker, which returns to the
client. The object communication may rely on an underlying message or RPC structure or
be developed directly on top of object-oriented capability in the operating system.
Client Client

Application
Application
ORB

RPC
RPC Object Transport Object
request request Stub
Stub and and Program
response Network
Program
response Transport

Network

Fig. 9.6: CORBA Remote Services

CORBA Client and Servers

Like the Client/Server architecture, CORBA maintains the notions of Client and Server. In
CORBA, a component can act as a client and as a server. Morever a component is considered a
server if it contains CORBA objects whose services are accessible to other objects. Similarly, a
component is considered a client if it accesses services from some other CORBA object.

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Thus, a component can simultaneously provide and use various services, and so a component
can be considered as a client or a server depending on the way.
More specifically, in CORBA application, any component that provides an
implementation for an object is considered as a server, at least where that objects are
concerned. If a component creates an object and provides others components with visibility
to that object (or in other words, allows other components to obtain references to that
object), that component acts as a server for that object; any requests made on that object
by other components will be processed by the component that created the object. Being a
CORBA server means that the component (the server) executes methods for a particular
object on behalf of other components (the clients).
An application component can provide services to other application components while
accessing services from other components. Here, the component is acting as a client of one
component and as a server to the other components; see the Fig. 9.7 given below, illustrating
those two components can simultaneously act as clients and servers to each other. In a
CORBA application, the term client and server might depends on the context of the method
being called and in which component that method’s object resides. Although an application
component can function as both a client and a server.

Component C
Client of (Server)

Component A Client of Component B

(Client) (Client +Server)

Client of Component D
(Server)

Fig. 9.7: Acting as a Client and a Server

CORBA Concepts
The basic idea is distributed computing, nowadays, most of the application are across the
open environment, based on the connection of heterogeneous platforms. All modern business
systems employ a network to connect a variety of computers, facilitating among applications.
In the future, there will be continued evolution toward applications that exist as
components across a network, which can be rapidly migrated and combined without
significant effort. This is where CORBA shines, by providing unified access to applications,
independent of the location of each application on network, also it provides:-
• Uniform access to services.
• Uniform discovery of resource/object.
• Uniform error handling methods.
• Uniform security policies.

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 These capabilities facilitate the integration and reuse of systems and system components,
independent of network location and the details of underlying implementation technology.
CORBA can be theoretically described based on the following three important concepts:
(i) Object-oriented model.
(ii) Open distributed computing environment.
(iii) Component integration and reuse.

(i) Object-oriented model: CORBA’s object model is based on complete object approach
in which a client sends a message to an object. The message identifiesan object,
and one or more parameters are included. The first parameter defines the
operation to be performed, although the specific method used is determined by
the receiving object. The CORBA object model comprises of:
Objects: An encapsulated entity that provides services to a client.
Request: An action created by a client directed to a target object that includes information
on the operation to be performed and zero or more actual parameters.
Object creation and destruction: Based on the state of request, objects are created or
deleted.

Types: An identifiable entity defined over values.

Interfaces: The specification of operations that a client can request from an object.
Operations: An identifiable entity that defines what a client can request from an object.
Object implementation in CORBA can be constituted in two parts, illustrated in the
Fig. 9.8, first one is construction part and second one is execution part.

Request Encapsulation

Object
Client Perform services
Exception values

Fig. 9.8: Object Implementation

(ii) Open distributed computing environment: As we have earlier discussed that

CORBA is based on a client server model of distributed computing. Within the
Client/Server model, requests for services are made from one software component
to another on a network. CORBA adds an additional dimension to this model by
inserting a broker between the client and server components. The main objective
of the broker is to reduce the complexity of implementing the interaction between
the client and server. The broker plays two major roles. Primarily, it provides common
services, including basic messaging and communication between client

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 and server, directory services, meta-data description, security services, and location
transparency. Secondly, it insulates the application from the specifics of the system
configuration, such as hardware platform and operating system, network protocol, and
implementation languages.
(iii) Component integration and reuse: The integration is the combination of two or
more existing components. With a good integration techniques and tools, reuse can be
achieved up to significant degree. Broker defines custom interfaces for each interaction
between components. Each interface is defined just once and subsequent interactions are
handled by the broker. With CORBA IDL, these interfaces can be defined in a standardized,
platform independent fashion.

Electronic Data Interchange

Electronic data Interchange uses direct link between computers, even
computers on different sites, to transmit data to eliminate data sent in
printed form.

It is a controlled transfer of data between business and organizations via

established security standards. One of the examples of EDI is shown in Fig.
9.9.
EDI is generally thought of as replacing standardized documents such as
order forms, purchase orders, delivery notes, receiving advices and invoices
in a standardized electronic message format.

EDI documents are electronically exchanged over communication

networks which connect trading partners to one another. These documents
are stored in user mailboxes on the networks’ EDI server from where they
can be downloaded/uploaded at the user is convenience from any one of
the workstations. But it differs from electronic mail in that it transmits an
actual structured transaction (with field such as the transition date,
transaction amount, senders name and recipient name) as opposed to
unstructured text message such as a letter.
The main purpose of EDI is cost reduction by eliminating paper document
handling. Faster electronic document transmission further saves time and
man power by avoiding the need to re-key data. And the data arrival rate
is much faster that mail.

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 SELLER BUYER
Receiving
Order Report Purchase
Department Department

Shipping Receiving
Department Department

Account Payments Account

Receivable Payable
Department Department

Fig. 9.9: EDI as an Example

Geographic Information Systems

Geographic information systems (GISs) provide the capability to view the topology of
a landscape, including features such as roads, sewers, electrical cables, and mineral
and soil content. GIS is a technology that has promised much and finally is beginning
to deliver. As with the expert systems technology, GISs are truly useful when they
integrate with the business process. From a technological perspective, GISs must
operate on standard technologies, integrate with the organization SDE, and directly
access the organizational databases.

Conceptually, GISs enable users to store virtually unlimited geographic information

as a series of layers. Some layers, such as street layouts, compose the base map. Other
layers, such as wetlands and subterranean water sources, are thematic layers that serve
a specific, sometimes narrow purpose. A GIS user can custom design a printed map to
fill a particular need by simply selecting the relevant layers. Selecting the street layer
and the wetlands layer would produce a map of wetlands and their relationship to the
streets. Selecting the subterranean water sources layer and the wetlands layer would
show the wetlands superimposed on the features of the underlying aquifer.

Each line, curve, and symbol in a map is fixed in space by a series of numbers, called
the spatial data. Spatial data describes the precise positioning of map objects in three-
dimensional space.

Besides storing map objects such as street segments and wetland boundaries, GISs
enable designers to specify attributes the users want to associate with any map object.
Such attributes may be descriptive data, detailed measurements of any kind, dates,
legal verbiage, or other comments. When viewing a map on-screen, the user can click

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any map object, and a data-entry window will open to display the attributes associated
with that object. Attribute information is usually stored in RDBMS tables, and each
map layer can draw attributes from multiple tables.

GIS applications are naturals for client/server technology. Powerful workstations

manage the mapping. Connectivity enables shared access to the layers maintained by
various departments. The GIS database is related to attributes stored in other
databases that provide considerably more value in combination. For example,
combining the voters list with the street maps allows polling booths to be located with
easy access for all and ensures that no natural or artificial barriers are blocking the
way.

Electronic Document Management—Multimedia

The concepts of electronic image management relate to the manipulation of

information contained in forms, blueprints, x-rays, microfilm, fingerprints,
photographs, and typewritten or handwritten notes. Electronic document management
adds the capability to manipulate information from other media, such as audio and
video. In addition, the "folder" device gives the user an intuitive interface to
information equivalent to, but more flexible than, a filing cabinet. The information is
always available on the desktop. Several users can use the folder simultaneously.
Folders are always refiled in the correct location. Billions of these documents exist
and are used daily in the process of providing government services. Consider that the
Los Angeles County municipal hospitals alone have 5 billion pieces of paper, x-rays,
scans, photographs, audio reports, and videos (and so on) filed to maintain patient
records. Currently, the cost of this technology is prohibitively high for most
organizations, but these systems will come down in price as all computer components
do.

Figure 10.5 illustrates the range of information sources that can be manipulated
digitally. To make efficient and effective use of this information, the means must exist
for rapid filing, retrieval, and sharing of this information among all persons. This is
the principle of making information available only to those with a "need and a right to
know."

Electronic mail can be delivered routinely in seconds anywhere in the United States.
Consumers can have direct access to suppliers. Goods can be ordered and paid for
electronically. A retired engineer in Northern California can teach algebra to
disadvantaged children in Compton, located in the southern part of the state. A parent
can deliver office work to an employer in downtown Los Angeles while he cares for

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children at home. Library and museum materials can be explored at the users' own
pace, with their personal interests in mind, to tap into a rich assortment of interactive,
graphical how-to lessons. The community library can provide the conduit to
government services: taking drivers' photographs and producing drivers' licenses on-
site, producing birth certificates, or searching the titles on properties. Lawyers can file
case data, review their calendars, or locate their clients' criminal records all from the
law office and under the safeguards provided by electronic passwords, user auditing,
and caller ID validation.

Each of these functions can be conveniently provided to citizens and consumers

without them having to travel to an office location. The cost savings and
environmental impact of this convenience are important considerations in today's
society. Businesses no longer need to rent or buy expensive office space close to
clients and suppliers. Individuals can live where they want and commute
electronically to work. It is easy to imagine how the provision of these services in
such a convenient manner can generate significant revenues that more than offset the
cost of providing the service.

High-speed communications networks can provide the capability to distribute

information other than voice conversations throughout a county, state, or country.
With the advent of fiber-optic cabling, the capacity for information distribution to a
location, office, library, or home is essentially infinite. As this technology become
readily available, we will be able to consider where best to store and use information
without concern for transmission time or quality. This is particularly true within a
small geographical area, such as a county where the "right of way" is owned and
private fiber-optic networks can be installed. High-speed networks in conjunction
with new standards for data integrity ensure that information can be stored throughout
the network and properly accessed from any point in the network.

Electronic documents can be transmitted and received just like any other digital
information. The same networks and personal computers can send and receive. The
major stumbling blocks to widespread sharing of electronic documents have been the
incompatible formats in which various vendors store and distribute the digital image
and the lack of a central repository of indexes to the documents. These indexes should
describe the document content to enable users to select the correct folder and
document.

Most information used by business and government today is contained in formats that
are not manipulatable through traditional data-processing techniques. This is
consistent with the "need and a right to know," mentioned earlier. Los Angeles
County, for example, decided to overcome these problems through the definition of
standards that must be adhered to by all products acquired for county projects.

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 Full-Text Retrieval

An area of explosive growth, coincident with the availability of high-powered

workstations and RISC servers, is full-text retrieval. Originally a technology used by
the military to scan covert transmissions and media communications, full-text
retrieval is now a mainstream technology. Vendors such as Fulcrum and PLS have
packaged their technology to be used in more traditional business applications.
Northern Telecom bundles a product, Helmsman, with all its switch documentation to
facilitate document access. All major news services provide an electronic feed of their
information. This information is continuously scanned by reporters, businesses, and
government offices to identify significant events or locate trends. Dow Jones provides
their news retrieval system with access to 10**12bytes (that's three billion pages) of
textual data. Many criteria searches can be run against all this text in a few seconds.
Figure 10.6 illustrates the flow of information in a full-text retrieval application.

The major hardware and software technologies that have made this technology
production viable are Optical Character Recognition (OCR), ICR, optical storage,
powerful workstations, large D-RAM, software algorithms, and high-resolution
monitors. OCR and ICR technologies convert the paper documents to text files.
Companies such as Colera provide software to convert typewritten documents directly
into WordPerfect format. Recent improvements in these algorithms provide support
for most major fonts. Improvements in handwriting recognition promise to enable
users to enter data from handwritten documents as well. Colera provides a fax link
that enables documents to be entered by way of OCR as they are received from a fax.
Mitek provides high-speed ICR engines to be used with document workflow
applications. Embedded diagrams are maintained in image format.

Full-text indexing of documents is a CPU-intensive function, and the availability of

low-cost, high-powered workstations has made the technology viable. (See Figure
10.7.) PC products such as Lotus Magellan enable the casual user to create full-text
indexes of all their files. Viewers and launchers within the products enable users to
access these files in their native format and manipulate them using a data editor of
choice. With the advent of Object Linking and Embedding (OLE 2.x) and CORBA-
based object solutions such as DOE, full-text access will become much more common
to support capture and inclusion of source material. For high-performance retrievals,
the indexes must support boolean search requests. The availability of large and low-
cost D-RAM provides the necessary environment. High-resolution monitors are
necessary as we move to a multiwindowed environment using facilities such as OLE
and DOE. Extensive use of these facilities will not be viable without the appropriate

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 resolution, because eyestrain will discourage use. We recommend Super VGA, a
resolution of 1024 by 768, as a minimum for this type of multiwindowed work.

What are the Client and Servers in the Computer Network?

Clients are computer hardware or server software that makes requests for resources and services that a server makes available. Clients are
often referred to as "service requesters". Thick, Thin, or Hybrid client computing are the three categories.

• Thick Client: A client that offers extensive functionality, does the majority of data processing on its own, and depends on the
server only a little.
• Thin Client: An application server handles the majority of the necessary data processing for a thin-client server, which is a
lightweight computer that heavily relies on the resources of the host computer.
• Hybrid Client: A hybrid client combines the elements of a thin client and a thick client. It may do local processing but must rely on
the server to keep persistent data.

A device or computer program that serves as a hub for other components or programs is known as a server. A server is any computerized
system that a client may access or utilize to share resources and distribute tasks. Typical servers include the following:

• Application Server
• Computing Server
• Database Server
• Web server

Client-Server Model
The Client-server model is a distributed application structure that partitions task or workload between the providers of a resource or service,
called servers, and service requesters called clients. In the client-server architecture, when the client computer sends a request for data to the
server through the internet, the server accepts the requested process and deliver the data packets requested back to the client. Clients do not share
any of their resources. Examples of Client-Server Model are Email, World Wide Web, etc.
How the Client-Server Model works ?
In this article we are going to take a dive into the Client-Server model and have a look at how the Internet works via, web browsers. This article
will help us in having a solid foundation of the WEB and help in working with WEB technologies with ease.
• Client: When we talk the word Client, it mean to talk of a person or an organization using a particular service. Similarly in the digital world
a Client is a computer (Host) i.e. capable of receiving information or using a particular service from the service providers (Servers).
• Servers: Similarly, when we talk the word Servers, It mean a person or medium that serves something. Similarly in this digital world
a Server is a remote computer which provides information (data) or access to particular services.
So, its basically the Client requesting something and the Server serving it as long as its present in the database.

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 How the browser interacts with the servers ?
There are few steps to follow to interacts with the servers a client.
• User enters the URL(Uniform Resource Locator) of the website or file. The Browser then requests the DNS(DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM)
Server.
• DNS Server lookup for the address of the WEB Server.
• DNS Server responds with the IP address of the WEB Server.
• Browser sends over an HTTP/HTTPS request to WEB Server’s IP (provided by DNS server).
• Server sends over the necessary files of the website.
• Browser then renders the files and the website is displayed. This rendering is done with the help of DOM (Document Object Model)
interpreter, CSS interpreter and JS Engine collectively known as the JIT or (Just in Time) Compilers.

Advantages of Client-Server model:

• Centralized system with all data in a single place.
• Cost efficient requires less maintenance cost and Data recovery is possible.
• The capacity of the Client and Servers can be changed separately.
Disadvantages of Client-Server model:
• Clients are prone to viruses, Trojans and worms if present in the Server or uploaded into the Server.
• Server are prone to Denial of Service (DOS) attacks.
• Data packets may be spoofed or modified during transmission.
• Phishing or capturing login credentials or other useful information of the user are common and MITM(Man in the Middle) attacks are
• common
•
•
•
• Architecture of client server transformation system
• .

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