计算机英语

Browser/Server Computing

How fall will the Web browser client go?Judging from the speed by which Oracle Corp,.SAP Inc,.Dun and Brasdtreet Corp,.PeopleSoft Inc.are racing to add a Web front end to their client/server suites,it would appear that Web browser have a lock on the client of the future.

But not everyone is convinced.Even though Intranets are fast becoming the corporate network of choise,and Netspace Comunication Corp.and Microsoft Corp.comtinue to pile OS-like features into their broswer,most analyts and user say that the technical needs for large-scale,transactioin-oriented client/server application demand more than a basic browser as a client.

Web browser may eventully perform all the functions of today's clients but not before client/server application vendors undergo a costly rewrite of their wares that will require a year or more to accomplish.

"As browsers get enhanced and client/server companies convert their client tecnology into Java-based applets for browser,functionality will increase,but I don't expect to see this for 18 months,said an analyst,"Web interface can't possibly give access to all the functionality you can get now with[existing] transactional[client]tools.""

And because it wil take a while for a browser to become a richer environment,the major providers of client/server suites are taking a piecemeal approach to the Web.

To provide a basic Web/client capability,most client/server vendors are relying on third parties,which sell tools that make it easier to link browser front ends to applications running on servers.

Some vendors,including SAP,and PeopleSoft,plan to go much further by rewriting their applacations as a series of Java componets,which will let users deploy all the functions of a client/server suite with a Web browser.SAP,for example,expects to release about 25 Internet application components by year's end.

Some analysts see these moves as only the beginning of a major strategy shift by the leading providers of client/server suites.

"I believe SAP will undergo a rebirth and go completely with Java in the next 18 months,"said  an analyst.

Ultimately browser will function in a "client-services" model where clients down-load applets and data from back-end applications on an as-needed basis.

In the meantime,the lure of a relatively and easier to maintain Intranet infrastructure brought about by the use of relatively standard Web client has many IS(Information System) managers enthusiastic about using Web browser.

However concerns with security dictate that it will take several years before users trust confidential information to a Web-based application.For application to be fully their wares and rewrite not only the client ,but also the server portion of their applications in Java or ActiveX to improve security.