AClient is acomputer that gets information from another computer calledserver in the context ofclient–server model ofcomputer networks. The server is often (but not always) on another computer system, in which case the client accesses the service by way of a network.[1]
A client is aprogram that, as part of its operation, relies on sending a request to another program or a computer hardware or software that accesses a service made available by a server (which may or may not be located on another computer).[2] For example,web browsers are clients that connect toweb servers and retrieveweb pages for display.[2]Email clients retrieveemail frommail servers.Online chat uses a variety of clients, which vary on the chat protocol being used.Multiplayer video games oronline video games may run as a client on each computer.[2] The term "client" may also be applied to computers or devices that run the client software or users that use the client software.
A client is part of aclient–server model, which is still used today. Clients and servers may be computer programs run on the same machine and connect via inter-process communication techniques. Combined withInternet sockets, programs may connect to a service operating on a possibly remote system through theInternet protocol suite. Servers wait for potential clients to initiate connections that they may accept.
The term was first applied todevices that were not capable of running their own stand-alone programs, but could interact with remote computers via a network. Thesecomputer terminals were clients of thetime-sharingmainframe computer.
| Relies on local storage | Relies on localCPU | |
|---|---|---|
| Fat client | Yes | Yes |
| Diskless node | No | Yes |
| Thin client | No | No |
In one classification, client computers and devices are eitherthick clients,thin clients, ordiskless nodes.
Athick client, also known as arich client orfat client, is a client that performs the bulk of any data processing operations itself, and does not necessarily rely on theserver. Thepersonal computer is a common example of a fat client, because of its relatively large set of features and capabilities and its light reliance upon a server. For example, a computer running anart program (such asKrita orSketchup) that ultimately shares the result of its work on a network is a thick client. A computer that runs almost entirely as a standalone machine save to send or receive files via a network is by a standard called aworkstation.
Athin client is a minimal sort of client. Thinclients use the resources of the host computer. A thin client generally only presents processed data provided by anapplication server, which performs the bulk of any required data processing. A device usingweb application (such asOffice Web Apps) is a thin client.[3]
Adiskless node is a mixture of the above two client models. Similar to a fat client, it processes locally, but relies on the server for storing persistent data. This approach offers features from both the fat client (multimedia support, high performance) and the thin client (high manageability, flexibility). A device running an online version of thevideo gameDiablo III is an example of diskless node.
