E-Business Lecture 3 Flashcards
Name the 4 different layers of infrastructure for e-Business
- Bottom layer (network topologies, the internet and protocols such as TCP/IP
- Basic Infrastructure layer (contains client/server and tiered architecture
- Technologies required for web-based applications
- Collaborative technologies (such as workflow systems & EDI
What is client server computing?
It handles the need for both centralized data control and widespread data accesibility
What does the client/server model provide?
A typical way to interconnect programs that are distributed across different locations
In which 2 ways can processing tasks be divided between the client and the server?
- Thin clients, with heavy servers
2. Servers that only contain common data with all the processing executed at the level of the client
What are the 5 basic features of the client/server model?
- Clients and servers are well defined interfaces
- Each client/server relationship is established between two functional modules, where one module, the client, initiates service requests and the other module, the server responds to these requests
- Information exchange between clients and servers are strictly through messages
- Message exchange is typically interactive
- Clients and servers may run on separate dedicated machines connected through a network
What do the tiers of an server/client architecture represent?
Refer to the number of elements into which the application is partitioned, not the number of platforms where the executable is deployed
What are the 5 drawbacks of the 2-tier client/server architecture?
- Scalability problems
- Poor business logic sharing
- Client reliance on the database structure
- Limited interoperability
- High-maintenance costs
In what tiers is the three-tier architecture partitioned?
- Presentation tier
- Processing tier
- Data tier
What does the processing tier enable?
It enables developers to isolate the main part of an application that can change over time: data & relationships inherent in the data
Name 3 varieties of ways to implement the middle tier in a three-tier architecture?
- Transaction processing monitors
- Message servers
- Application servers
What do websites do?
They provide the content that is accessed by web users. A web site is a catalogue of info
For each content provider over the web, what is necessary?
- Web server
- Content files (web pages)
- Gateways (programs that access non-Web content e.g. databases)
Definition of “Web Server”
An application that receives calls from Web clients and retrieves web pages and/or receives information from gateways
What is a web browser?
Web browsers are the clients that typically use graphical user interfaces to wander through the websites
Name the 2 distinguishes of web applications
- Static documents delivered from the file system of the web server
- Dynamic documents that have an interactive and usually time-sensitive nature. These require the server to generate the document on the fly
In what tiers is the multi-tiered architecture partitioned in?
- Client tier
- Presentation tier
- Processing tier
- Data tier
What are the 3 characteristics of workflows
- A workflow system automates a business process, during which documents, information or tasks are passed from one participant to another for action, according to a set of rules
- A workflow normally comprises a number of logical steps (activities)
- A workflow can depict various aspects of business process, such as automated and manual activities, decision points and business rules
What does the workflow technology enable?
It enables developers to describe full intra- or inter-organisational business processes with dependencies, sequencing selection and iteration. It describes the complex rules for processing in a business process and allows people to be deployed more productively within an organization
Definition of Electronic Data Integration (EDI)?
The transfer of structured data by agreed message standards between computer applications
- A network for transmitting standard transactions
- A paperless trading environment
- Routine documents
- Documents translated into standard business language
What are the 2 key elements in basic EDI?
- Electronic documents replace their paper counterparts
2. The exchange of documents takes place in a standardized format
What is the EDI Trade Cycle?
Regular, repeat transactions between commercial trading partners
What are the 4 problems with EDI?
- Fixed transactions set
- Resilience to change
- Reliance on proprietary communications networks
- Encapsulation of business rules in transaction sets
