0 Thick client and Thin client programs difference

As a developer you may have a question about the advantages and disadvantages of thin client as well as thick client programs. If you are an online application developer somewhere you would have been feel the following questions in you mind at least once.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of developing solution as thick client?

What are the advantages/disadvantages of developing solution as thin client?

Here you go……

Desktop application (Thick client applications)

Advantages of thick client applications

1) Performance - Application Response to user's request will be faster

2) Cost development/deployment is less

3) Extremely rich GUI is possible

4) Offline working possible (with low cost)

5) Accessing local resources/hardware is simple/easy

 

Disadvantages of thick client applications

1) High Operation or Maintenance Cost - Each release may need a reinstallation or patch upgrade to all the clients. 

2) Overall more computing resources required (when the resources of all the client machines put together)

3) More Energy cost - overall more energy utilized

4) Less secured as the program is distributed to all the clients

5) Depending upon the increase in application resource utilization for each release/version, there might be a need to upgrade all the client hardware.

6) Each OS might need a different build (even in some cases of swing application)

 

Web based application (Thin Client applications)

Now a days with RIAs most of the desktop applications can be developed in web based application (while cost of development being higher).

 

Advantages of thin client applications

1) Low Operating/Maintenance cost

2) Overall low computing resources required

3) Less Energy Cost - Overall less energy is utilized

4) More secured

5)  More Portable - deploy once run anywhere

6) In case of RIA - can have almost all of the features in desktop application

 

Disadvantages of thin client applications

1) Cost development/deployment is high

2) Difficult to develop extremely rich UI

3) Offline working is costly or impossible

4) There might be a performance issue - in case of more network intensive calls to server.