Path: utzoo!yunexus!geac!syntron!jtsv16!uunet!husc6!linus!encore!bzs
From: bzs@encore.UUCP (Barry Shein)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.news
Subject: Re: Bugs in NeWs documentation (really: terminology confusing to novices)
Message-ID: <3500@encore.UUCP>
Date: 20 Aug 88 21:43:02 GMT
Article-I.D.: encore.3500
References: <1327@ucsfcca.ucsf.edu> <20102@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Organization: Encore Computer Corp, Marlboro, MA
Lines: 23
In-reply-to: bob@allosaur.cis.ohio-state.edu's message of 16 Aug 88 19:11:04 GMT


What's the confusion here?

Server: something which provides a resource, such as a piece of hardware.

	Disk servers provide disks, window servers provide screens.

	Servers might abstract their resources, NFS makes disks
	look like file systems, NeWS/X make screens look like
	window systems.

Client: something which uses these resources by indirect requests to
the server.

	Disk clients use other's disks, window clients use other's screens.

Servers control the resources (eg. can refuse service, ensure security
and integrity in general.)

Servers can run w/o clients, clients are meaningless w/o servers and
generally just exit(1) immediately or loop looking for them.

	-Barry Shein, ||Encore||