Thin Clients As Programs
The notion of a thin client extends directly to any client–server architecture: in which case, a thin client application is simply one which relies on its server to process most or all of its business logic. This idiom is relatively common for computer security reasons: a client obviously cannot be trusted with the logic that determines how trustworthy they are; an adversary would simply skip the logic and say "I'm as trustworthy as possible!"
However, in web development in particular, client applications are becoming fatter. This is due to the adoption of heavily client-side technologies like Ajax and Flash, which are themselves strongly driven by the highly interactive nature of Web 2.0 applications.
A renewed interest in virtual private servers, with many virtualization programs coming to a ripe stage, means that servers on the web today may handle many different client businesses. This can be thought of as having a thin-client "virtual server" which depends on the actual host in which it runs to do all of its computation for it. The end result, at least, is the same: providing of the computing service for many clients.
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Famous quotes containing the words thin, clients and/or programs:
“And this mighty master of the organ of language, who knew its every stop and pipe, who could awaken at will the thin silver tones of its slenderest reeds or the solemn cadence of its deepest thunder, who could make it sing like a flute or roar like a cataract, he was born into a country without literature.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)
“...a lot of my people are models. I like that for them. I admire models, so I think that’s right for my people. ...I love it when I have an important [client]. And the pictures and awards. One of my clients has these television awards—a beautiful statue of a woman. I think it’s an Emmy. People would be lucky to get one. She has two. I think that’s great.”
—Elaine Strong (b. 1934)
“Although good early childhood programs can benefit all children, they are not a quick fix for all of society’s ills—from crime in the streets to adolescent pregnancy, from school failure to unemployment. We must emphasize that good quality early childhood programs can help change the social and educational outcomes for many children, but they are not a panacea; they cannot ameliorate the effects of all harmful social and psychological environments.”
—Barbara Bowman (20th century)