There has been much buzz around "Smart Clients" lately. Large companies are building Smart Client Line of Business Applications. But how are "Smart Clients" different from traditional Thick/Rich Client Applications?
[MSSmartClientReference]
Smart client isn't a technology, and it isn't any specific architecture. It is a style of application that combines the best of both Windows applications and web applications. What are best aspects of each of these worlds?
Four Smart Client Characteristics
- It uses local resources and provides a rich user experience
- It's a connected application that exchanges data on the Internet or an enterprise network
- Even though it's a connected application, it is offline capable so that it can be used whether or not it is currently connected
- It has an intelligent deployment and update story, maintaining relatively the same ease of deployment and management as web applications
