Client/Server Computing for Dummies (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Welcome to the world of client/server computing, an exciting form of computing that's recommended by four out of five dentists surveyed, tastes great, and is..." (more)
Key Phrases: good data warehouse, thin coax cable, local disk storage, Visual Basic, Crystal Reports, The Undiscovered Country (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Client/server" are buzzwords that are much bandied about but that remain a fuzzy concept in many computer users' minds. In Client/Server Computing for Dummies, Doug Lowe does a decent job of explaining some implementations and applications of client/server networking and how they can make information-centric systems more efficient.

The real value of this book is as an educational tool for businesspeople who suspect client/server computing may solve some of their business problems but don't know enough about the technology to say for sure. Lowe educates these people by showing--with plenty of conceptual diagrams and examples--what networks are and how database applications operate over them. The operator of a small to midsize business could get a feel for networked databases from these pages and gain enough knowledge of the topic to talk competently with a software designer. Much of Client/Server Computing for Dummies is a Structured Query Language (SQL) tutorial that's pretty good. The author explains queries, joins, and reports and provides plenty of example SQL statements.

In the book's later chapters, Lowe gets into the specifics of client/server programming but doesn't succeed to the same degree that he does in the more general chapters; he uses a somewhat scattered approach to application development, touching on many technologies while covering few of them adequately. --David Wall

Review

"...covers a wide range of networking topics in enough detail for you to run, manage and improve your network." -- Computer Shopper, England, May 2000

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Product Details

• Paperback: 406 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 3 edition (February 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764504762
• ISBN-13: 978-0764504761
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #942,998 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent high-level overview., August 31, 2001

By	Peter Soucy (Plymouth, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you've read several ...for Dummies books like I have, you know the quality in the series varies from excellent to mediocre to downright poor. Fortunately, C/S for Dummies ranks among the best of these yellow and black volumes which I keep as a handy reference.

Part I offers an excellent and insightful overview of what client/server computing is, what problems it addresses, and how it evolved to become a standard basic architecture in the IT industry. Also provides a nice explanation as to how C/S computing has played a major role in the industry's shift from merely automating common existing business processes (e.g. invoicing, accounts payable, acounts receivable, etc) to exploiting the technology to reingineer, eliminate or even create new opportunities that would not otherwise be possible. Automation of inefficient procedures does little more than produce fast ineficiency and partially explains why productivity gains during the 1980s were insignificant.

Part II, however, gives a rather superficial coverage of networks. Other than a survey of all the network jargon, the explanations are not very illuminating.

Part III's coverage of databases provides an insightful survery of database concepts, SQL, database design and system analysis. Also guides the reader through a working example of developing a logical two-tier application using Visual Basic. The example may seem simplistic but affords the reader a working understanding of a client font-end program's role in the system and how SQL queries interact with a database.

The remainder of the book delves into several topics such as transaction processing, followed by thorough coverage of the Internet and the Web as well as a survey of all pertinent tools.
The book is a bit dated as client/server is no longer the rage as it was in the early and mid 1990s. The push now seems to be to put applications on the Web either on the Internet or for internal use on a corporate intranet. Nevertheless, the author makes the book a complete reference of today's information systems (at least as of 1999) by complementing conventional C/S topic with coverage of the Web. The author also articulates why the Web is really a C/S system taken to the next logical level thus justifying it's inclusion in the text.

Readers can expect to finish the book with a high level understanding of client/server systems and the Web along with a survey of popular development tools, languages and database packages which are representative of all components of the system. While some explanations may seem shallow, the reader will at least have a good idea as to where to look for more in depth coverage of a topic and what function each piece plays in the overall system.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Intro...an easy read., July 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Client/Server Computing for Dummies (Paperback)

This book covers the basics of client server...Excellent intro. Dont expect any technical grit...but good treatment of the essential concepts. Good coverage of OSI, evolution of client server concepts, SQL basics.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introductory text, November 3, 2000

By	Todd Hawley (San Francisco CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book dives into the basic concepts of client/server computing and does it in a way that the average person can quickly grasp what it's about. While it may not be a "techie" book, it is an entertaining and intriguing look at this technology, which is becoming an increasingly popular one.

I liked the author's use of analogies to introduce specific subjects, which helps the reader to understand all the different technologies (software, networking, terminals, PC, etc) that go into putting together a client/server system. Among the topics dicussed are what client/server is, how it can help your business, different types of "clients" and servers, a major section devoted to databases and client/server tools.

If you have been put in a situation where you need to learn this technology fast, this book is a good place to start.