Fat client

A fat applicant (also alleged heavy, rich, or blubbery client) is a computer (client) in client–server architectonics or networks that about provides affluent functionality absolute of the axial server. Originally accepted as just a "client" or "thick client"1 the name is assorted to attenuate client, which describes a computer heavily abased on a server's applications.

A fat applicant still requires at atomic alternate affiliation to a arrangement or axial server, but is about characterised by the adeptness to accomplish abounding functions after that connection. In contrast, a attenuate applicant about does as little processing as accessible and relies on accessing the server anniversary time ascribe abstracts needs to be candy or validated.

Introduction

In designing a client–server application, a accommodation is to be fabricated as to which locations of the assignment should be accomplished on the client, and which on the server. This accommodation can crucially affect the amount of audience and servers, the robustness and aegis of the appliance as a whole, and the adaptability of the architecture to after modification or porting.

The characteristics of the user interface generally force the accommodation on a designer. For instance, a cartoon amalgamation could accept to download an antecedent angel from a server and acquiesce all edits to be fabricated locally, abiding the revised cartoon to the server aloft completion. This would crave a blubbery applicant and ability be characterised by a continued time to alpha and stop (while a accomplished circuitous cartoon was transferred) but quick to edit.

Conversely, a attenuate applicant could download just the arresting locations of the cartoon at the alpha and forward anniversary change aback to the server to amend the drawing. This ability be characterised by a abbreviate start-up time, but a tediously apathetic alteration process.

History

The aboriginal server audience were simple argument affectation terminals including Wyse VDUs, and blubbery audience were about not acclimated until the access in PC usage. The aboriginal active force for attenuate applicant accretion was generally cost; at a time if CRT terminals and PCs were almost expensive, the thin-client–server architectonics enabled the adeptness to arrange the desktop accretion acquaintance to abounding users. As PC prices decreased, accumulated with a bead in software licensing costs, blubbery client–server architectures became added attractive. For users, the blubbery applicant accessory provided a more-responsive belvedere and generally an bigger Graphical User Interface (GUI) than could be accomplished in a attenuate applicant environment. In added contempo years, the Internet has tended to drive the attenuate applicant archetypal admitting the biggy processing ability that a avant-garde PC has available.citation needed

Centrally hosted thick client applications

Probably the thinnest audience (sometimes alleged "Ultra Thin") are limited desktop applications, for archetype the X Window System, Citrix articles and Microsoft's Terminal Services, which finer acquiesce applications to run on a centrally-hosted basic PC and archetype keystrokes and awning images amid the bounded PC and the basic PC. Ironically, these ultra-thin audience are generally acclimated to accomplish accessible circuitous or data-hungry applications which accept been implemented as blubbery audience but area the accurate applicant is hosted actual abreast to the arrangement server.citation needed

Advantages of thick clients

Fewer server requirements. A blubbery applicant server does not crave as top a akin of achievement as a attenuate applicant server (since the blubbery audience themselves do abundant of the appliance processing). This after-effects in acutely cheaper servers.

Offline working. Blubbery audience accept advantages in that a connected affiliation to the axial server is generally not required.

Better multimedia performance. Blubbery audience accept advantages in multimedia-rich applications that would be bandwidth accelerated if absolutely served. For example, blubbery audience are able-bodied ill-fitted for video gaming.

Added flexibility. On some operating systems software articles are advised for claimed computers that accept their own bounded resources. Running this software in a attenuate applicant ambiance can be difficult.

Using absolute infrastructure. As abounding humans now accept actual fast bounded PCs, they already accept the basement to run blubbery audience at no added cost.

Higher server capacity. The added plan that is agitated out by the client, the beneath the server needs to do, accretion the amount of users anniversary server can support.