Web appwication

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Horde groupware is an open-source web appwication, uh-hah-hah-hah.

In computing, a web appwication or web app is a cwient–server software appwication in which de cwient (or user interface) runs in a web browser.[1] Common web appwications incwude webmaiw, onwine retaiw sawes, onwine auctions, wikis, instant messaging services and many oder functions.

Definition and simiwar terms[edit]

The generaw distinction between a dynamic web page of any kind and a "web appwication" is uncwear. Web sites most wikewy to be referred to as "web appwications" are dose which have simiwar functionawity to a desktop software appwication, or to a mobiwe app. HTML5 introduced expwicit wanguage support for making appwications dat are woaded as web pages, but can store data wocawwy and continue to function whiwe offwine.

Singwe-page appwications are more appwication-wike because dey reject de more typicaw web paradigm of moving between distinct pages wif different URLs. Singwe-page frameworks wike Sencha Touch and AnguwarJS might be used to speed devewopment of such a web app for a mobiwe pwatform.

Mobiwe web appwications[edit]

There are severaw ways of targeting mobiwe devices when making a web appwication:

  • Responsive web design can be used to make a web appwication - wheder a conventionaw web site or a singwe-page appwication viewabwe on smaww screens and work weww wif touchscreens.
  • Progressive Web Apps are a hybrid of reguwar web pages (or websites) and a mobiwe appwication, uh-hah-hah-hah.
  • Native apps or "mobiwe apps" run directwy on a mobiwe device, just as a conventionaw software appwication runs directwy on a desktop computer, widout a web browser (and potentiawwy widout de need for Internet connectivity); dese are typicawwy written in Java (for Android devices) or Objective C or Swift (for iOS devices). Recentwy, frameworks wike React Native, Fwutter and Xamarin awwow de devewopment of native apps for aww pwatforms using wanguages oder dan each standard native wanguage.
  • Hybrid apps embed a mobiwe web site inside a native app, possibwy using a hybrid framework wike Apache Cordova and Ionic or Appcewerator Titanium. This awwows devewopment using web technowogies (and possibwy directwy copying code from an existing mobiwe web site) whiwe awso retaining certain advantages of native apps (e.g. direct access to device hardware, offwine operation, app store visibiwity).


In earwier computing modews wike cwient–server, de processing woad for de appwication was shared between code on de server and code instawwed on each cwient wocawwy. In oder words, an appwication had its own pre-compiwed cwient program which served as its user interface and had to be separatewy instawwed on each user's personaw computer. An upgrade to de server-side code of de appwication wouwd typicawwy awso reqwire an upgrade to de cwient-side code instawwed on each user workstation, adding to de support cost and decreasing productivity. In addition, bof de cwient and server components of de appwication were usuawwy tightwy bound to a particuwar computer architecture and operating system and porting dem to oders was often prohibitivewy expensive for aww but de wargest appwications. (Today, of course, native apps for mobiwe devices are awso hobbwed by some or aww of de foregoing issues.)

In contrast, web appwications use web documents written in a standard format such as HTML and JavaScript, which are supported by a variety of web browsers. Web appwications can be considered as a specific variant of cwient–server software where de cwient software is downwoaded to de cwient machine when visiting de rewevant web page, using standard procedures such as HTTP. Cwient web software updates may happen each time de web page is visited. During de session, de web browser interprets and dispways de pages, and acts as de universaw cwient for any web appwication, uh-hah-hah-hah.

In de earwy days of de Web each individuaw web page was dewivered to de cwient as a static document, but de seqwence of pages couwd stiww provide an interactive experience, as user input was returned drough web form ewements embedded in de page markup. However, every significant change to de web page reqwired a round trip back to de server to refresh de entire page.

In 1995 Netscape introduced a cwient-side scripting wanguage cawwed JavaScript awwowing programmers to add some dynamic ewements to de user interface dat ran on de cwient side. So instead of sending data to de server in order to generate an entire web page, de embedded scripts of de downwoaded page can perform various tasks such as input vawidation or showing/hiding parts of de page.

In 1996, Macromedia introduced Fwash, a vector animation pwayer dat couwd be added to browsers as a pwug-in to embed animations on de web pages. It awwowed de use of a scripting wanguage to program interactions on de cwient side wif no need to communicate wif de server.

In 1999, de "web appwication" concept was introduced in de Java wanguage in de Servwet Specification version 2.2. [2.1?].[2][3] At dat time bof JavaScript and XML had awready been devewoped, but Ajax had stiww not yet been coined and de XMLHttpReqwest object had onwy been recentwy introduced on Internet Expworer 5 as an ActiveX object.[4]

In 2005, de term Ajax was coined, and appwications wike Gmaiw started to make deir cwient sides more and more interactive. A web page script is abwe to contact de server for storing/retrieving data widout downwoading an entire web page.

In 2011, HTML5 was finawized, which provides graphic and muwtimedia capabiwities widout de need of cwient side pwug-ins. HTML5 awso enriched de semantic content of documents. The APIs and document object modew (DOM) are no wonger afterdoughts, but are fundamentaw parts of de HTML5 specification, uh-hah-hah-hah. WebGL API paved de way for advanced 3D graphics based on HTML5 canvas and JavaScript wanguage. These have significant importance in creating truwy pwatform and browser independent rich web appwications.


Through Java, JavaScript, DHTML, Fwash, Siwverwight and oder technowogies, appwication-specific medods such as drawing on de screen, pwaying audio, and access to de keyboard and mouse are aww possibwe. Many services have worked to combine aww of dese into a more famiwiar interface dat adopts de appearance of an operating system. Generaw purpose techniqwes such as drag and drop are awso supported by dese technowogies. Web devewopers often use cwient-side scripting to add functionawity, especiawwy to create an interactive experience dat does not reqwire page rewoading. Recentwy, technowogies have been devewoped to coordinate cwient-side scripting wif server-side technowogies such as ASP.NET, J2EE, Perw/Pwack and PHP.

Ajax, a web devewopment techniqwe using a combination of various technowogies, is an exampwe of technowogy which creates a more interactive experience.


Appwications are usuawwy broken into wogicaw chunks cawwed "tiers", where every tier is assigned a rowe.[5] Traditionaw appwications consist onwy of 1 tier, which resides on de cwient machine, but web appwications wend demsewves to an n-tiered approach by nature.[5] Though many variations are possibwe, de most common structure is de dree-tiered appwication, uh-hah-hah-hah.[5] In its most common form, de dree tiers are cawwed presentation, appwication and storage, in dis order. A web browser is de first tier (presentation), an engine using some dynamic Web content technowogy (such as ASP, CGI, CowdFusion, Dart, JSP/Java, Node.js, PHP, Pydon or Ruby on Raiws) is de middwe tier (appwication wogic), and a database is de dird tier (storage).[5] The web browser sends reqwests to de middwe tier, which services dem by making qweries and updates against de database and generates a user interface.

For more compwex appwications, a 3-tier sowution may faww short, and it may be beneficiaw to use an n-tiered approach, where de greatest benefit is breaking de business wogic, which resides on de appwication tier, into a more fine-grained modew.[5] Anoder benefit may be adding an integration tier dat separates de data tier from de rest of tiers by providing an easy-to-use interface to access de data.[5] For exampwe, de cwient data wouwd be accessed by cawwing a "wist_cwients()" function instead of making an SQL qwery directwy against de cwient tabwe on de database. This awwows de underwying database to be repwaced widout making any change to de oder tiers.[5]

There are some who view a web appwication as a two-tier architecture. This can be a "smart" cwient dat performs aww de work and qweries a "dumb" server, or a "dumb" cwient dat rewies on a "smart" server.[5] The cwient wouwd handwe de presentation tier, de server wouwd have de database (storage tier), and de business wogic (appwication tier) wouwd be on one of dem or on bof.[5] Whiwe dis increases de scawabiwity of de appwications and separates de dispway and de database, it stiww doesn't awwow for true speciawization of wayers, so most appwications wiww outgrow dis modew.[5]

Business use[edit]

An emerging strategy for appwication software companies is to provide web access to software previouswy distributed as wocaw appwications. Depending on de type of appwication, it may reqwire de devewopment of an entirewy different browser-based interface, or merewy adapting an existing appwication to use different presentation technowogy. These programs awwow de user to pay a mondwy or yearwy fee for use of a software appwication widout having to instaww it on a wocaw hard drive. A company which fowwows dis strategy is known as an appwication service provider (ASP), and ASPs are currentwy receiving much attention in de software industry.

Security breaches on dese kinds of appwications are a major concern because it can invowve bof enterprise information and private customer data. Protecting dese assets is an important part of any web appwication and dere are some key operationaw areas dat must be incwuded in de devewopment process.[6] This incwudes processes for audentication, audorization, asset handwing, input, and wogging and auditing. Buiwding security into de appwications from de beginning can be more effective and wess disruptive in de wong run, uh-hah-hah-hah.

Cwoud Computing modew web appwications are software as a service (SaaS). There are business appwications provided as SaaS for enterprises for fixed or usage dependent fee. Oder web appwications are offered free of charge, often generating income from advertisements shown in web appwication interface.


Writing a web appwication is often simpwified by open source software[rewevant? ] such as Django, Ruby on Raiws or Symfony cawwed web appwication frameworks. These frameworks faciwitate rapid appwication devewopment by awwowing a devewopment team to focus on de parts of deir appwication which are uniqwe to deir goaws widout having to resowve common devewopment issues such as user management.[7] Whiwe many of dese frameworks are open source, dis is by no means a reqwirement.

The use of web appwication frameworks can often reduce de number of errors in a program, bof by making de code simpwer, and by awwowing one team to concentrate on de framework whiwe anoder focuses on a specified use case. In appwications which are exposed to constant hacking attempts on de Internet, security-rewated probwems can be caused by errors in de program. Frameworks can awso promote de use of best practices[8] such as GET after POST.

In addition, dere is potentiaw for de devewopment of appwications on Internet operating systems, awdough currentwy dere are not many viabwe pwatforms dat fit dis modew.


Exampwes of browser appwications are simpwe office software (word processors, onwine spreadsheets, and presentation toows), but can awso incwude more advanced appwications such as project management, computer-aided design, video editing and point-of-sawe.

See awso[edit]


  1. ^ Nations, Daniew. "Web Appwications". About.com. Retrieved 20 January 2014. 
  2. ^ Awex Chaffee (2000-08-17). "What is a web appwication (or "webapp")?". Retrieved 2008-07-27. 
  3. ^ James Duncan Davidson, Danny Coward (1999-12-17). Java Servwet Specification ("Specification") Version: 2.2 Finaw Rewease. Sun Microsystems. pp. 43–46. Retrieved 2008-07-27. 
  4. ^ "Dynamic HTML and XML: The XMLHttpReqwest Object". Appwe Inc. Retrieved 2008-06-25. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jeremy Petersen, uh-hah-hah-hah. "Benefits of using de n-tiered approach for web appwications". 
  6. ^ "Top Tips for Secure App Devewopment". Deww.com. Retrieved 2012-06-22. 
  7. ^ Muwtipwe (wiki). "Web appwication framework". Docforge. Retrieved 2010-03-06. 
  8. ^ Muwtipwe (wiki). "Framework". Docforge. Retrieved 2010-03-06. 

Externaw winks[edit]