Client Site App adding value to a Web App

  • Thread starter Thread starter bmntech
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bmntech

I want to create a client app, adding value to and building on my Web
app.

The user of this client app will be able to seamlessly access the
public web site, but will also have additional functionality and
content not available on the public site. The rational is to allow the
user to work disconnected, to use the client's processing power, to
remove the communications delay and to provide an additional layer of
privacy.

I can assume the client runs Windows with .net 2.0 installed.

What do I need to study? What's the architecture? What's the buzzword?
What works? What is the "almost released" technology to use in the next
year or two?

Avi
 
If you can assume that the client already has .Net 2.0 installed, you can
use a Winform app with Click Once. If you want to go to the more forward
thinking technology, you could consider WPF which will require the .Net 3.0
framework (formerly WinFX) which is tentatively scheduled for release at
the end of this year. You also need to consider what mechanism you want to
use for offline data caching and queueing.

Jim Wooley
http://devauthority.com/blogs/jwooley/default.aspx
 
Hi,

A few quick things that you may want to consider:
1. Communication of the client piece with API on your web piece - by
this I mean, that since the Client is an extension of your main Web
App, there would probably be business objects on the server that you
may want to share with the client. So you need to decide how this
sharing happens: Possible scenarios may include: Web Services,
Remoting, Indigo?? (if you are targeting Vista Systems).. of course it
also depends, whether you are running in a LAN enviroment or a WAN
environment.

2. Related to communication, one of the decision points that I have
always run into is, how to authenticate the client when it is either
commnuicating with the server or navigating from the client to a server
(by opening a web browser window for instance, in which case it should
ideally have a single sign-on)...

3. Local Data Storage Mechanism

4. Related to Communication - Message Passing Architecture between
client and server - queueing, etc.

5. Client Software Update Architecture - how does your app manage,
software updates.

Above pointers are of course some of the many things to consider. You
might want to take a look at Microsoft "Enterprise Library"

Also, another very good resource is at http://www.lhotka.net. It is a
Business Object architecture called CSLA.

I hope others will contribute a bit more to this meager set of pointers
:)

Else, ask more specific questions, and maybe I will be able to answer.

- Vaibhav
 
Thanks, Vaibhav.

I think I'll look into Windows Communications Foundation (Indigo)

So much to learn ...

Avi
 
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