5. Standards

Having reviewed the main functions implemented by a client/server system, we now turn to the various ways in which these same functions can be implemented in the form of software components. These implementations comply with specifications that are either proprietary, or conform to interoperability and/or portability standards. It should be remembered that interoperability standards define the syntax and sequence of message types exchanged between systems, so as to enable dialogue between client and server over the network; furthermore, the ability of a software component developed for one type of system (e.g. Windows) to run unchanged on another type of system (e.g. UNIX) is called portability; portability is not necessarily linked to interoperability; it presupposes standardization of the syntax for calling "client/server" services from an application program; an example of a portability...