Oracle does not think client-server is dead, they do see a transition away from high maintenance fat clients. Oracle's client-server solution works just fine, in fact it is one of the more flexible architectures out there (which segues nicely into this next point). By the way, if Oracle has never been able to get client-server to perform well, how is it that Oracle-based client-sever systems are ubiquitous in the pharmaceutical industry?
Is NCA client-server? Well, yes and no. In a traditional two-tier client-server architecture, you have your data stored on a database server and you process the data (validation, enforce business rules, etc...) on the client. Using Oracle's client-server development environment (now called Oracle Developer, they have dropped the 2000), you could easily perform application partitioning and blur that line. Some of the processing that was being done on the client really fits better on the server anyway. Instead of bringing lots of data down to the client, processing it, and then sending it back, Oracle allows you to easily move that functionality to stored procedures on the server and execute it there. It has worked very nicely, reduced network traffic and so on.
NCA is a three-tier client-server architecture. The server tier remains pretty much the same. Instead of having a fat client running the application, however, the "old" client is split into two tiers. A thin client that provides the user interface and an applications server that does the rest of what the "old" client used to do (validation, enforce business rules, communicate with the database).
So, NCA is client-server, but not in the traditional two-tier sense. Multiple "clients" are running on the applications server. In an internet environment, this keeps everything pretty much inside the firewall. It also makes maintenance of (and installation of new) thin "clients" at the end user much simpler. Set up a browser with the Java plug-in, point it at the server, download the class files that provide the UI and go (of course, it doesn't quite work that way, YET). I will gladly refute any claims that installing and maintaining Oracle's (or anyone's) current client software is a simple, problem free task. Oracle is making it easy to move from two-tier client server to NCA. I'm continuing to develop the "old" way most of the time, but always keeping the transition to NCA in the back of my mind.
-Michael
The New York Oracle User's Group had a meeting yesterday, in the fog, on a boat sailing down the Hudson, around New York Harbor, and back. The meeting was sponsored by Microsoft and NCR, and the President of the NYOUG hammered Oracle (again) for failing to support their user community while vendors such as Microsoft, NCR, CA are happy to provide their $ and support. I hear there a few VPs in Redwood Shores who are not particularly happy with us (the NYOUG). It seems to be a very familiar situation for all involved. The more things change... |
