Books on client/server computing are often dry and academic. Not so with the
Client/Server Survival Guide, now in its third edition. The trio of authors--Jeri Edwards, Dan Harkey, and Robert Orfali--make the topic interesting with a down-to-earth style that covers the informational landscape without boring the reader to tears. Numerous nontechnical diagrams drive home important concepts quickly.
The first part consists of a comprehensive overview of client/server computing. In this critical introduction, the authors discuss the paradigm, the various flavors of servers, and the basics of two-tier and three-tier architectures. They also discuss how the client/server works in the real world and introduce the concepts of LAN, WAN, and other connection topologies.
Next, the authors introduce you to the various operating systems, the concept of middleware, and communication protocols. They present a forward-looking discussion of network operating systems, followed by several chapters on SQL database servers and transaction processing. With the database foundation laid, the authors then present client/server groupware, with a look at popular solutions such as Lotus Notes, Domino 5, and Novell GroupWise.
The book continues with discussions of object standards such as CORBA and DCOM, as well as an introduction to object databases and their potential for distributed computing. The book then covers the Internet with a wide-ranging discussion of Web-based client/server computing. This unique title wraps up with an acronym-packed look at client/server and distributed system management standards and a glimpse of the future of client/server architecture.
--Stephen W. Plain
Customer Reviews & Comments
This book is for client/server novices and those with experience in client/server development. For novices, this book is an excellent source for knowing the client/server architecture, 2-tier and above. As a person experienced in client/server development this book gave an understanding of basics of application layer from a theoritical perspective. This book has to be read many times and the readers will feel the need to refer to certain topics as the need arises. I have to caution the readers that this book is not meant to be read once. A client/server system consists of a) presentation layer b) application layer c) database layer. This books touches on topics on all the three layers In presentation layer, it deals with GUI/OOUI/non-GUI clients. In application layer, transaction processing (transaction management) is described in great detail. In the database layer, major database vendors are discussed (I feel this may not be useful for those of us already familiar with database management systems). Messaging components (I tend to include TP monitors in this category too) are discussed that form the core part of application layer component. The book discusses numerous other topics such as datawarehousing (OLAP, EIS, DSS), CORBA (excellent material to understand from a high-level perspective), object databases (I really liked this part because of my experience in RDBMS) and distributed objects and management. I would highly recommend this book for those of you out there waiting to know more about client/server architecture.
