Question

T/F: The fat client approach mimics the traditional host-centered approach and is often the migration path for evolving corporate-wide application from the mainframe to a distributed environment

Answer 1

The statement is false; a fat client approach does not mimic the traditional host-centered approach.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement suggests that a fat client approach mimics the traditional host-centered approach, serving as a migration path for corporations moving from a mainframe to a more distributed computing environment. This is false. A fat client (also known as a thick client or rich client) is a networked computer with most resources installed locally, rather than distributed over a network.

This is different from the historic host-centered approach where clients (often terminals) had little to no processing power and relied heavily on a centralized mainframe for processing tasks.

In a fat client setup, applications and data are processed on the local computer. In contrast, the host-centered or mainframe approach offloads nearly all processing to the central host machine.

Therefore, the migration path from a mainframe to a distributed environment typically involves a shift towards thin or hybrid clients rather than fat clients, as these models leverage server resources while reducing the workload on the client side. The fat client approach is generally considered when local processing power and offline functionality are essential.

Fat clients are designed to process data locally, while host-centered systems rely on a central mainframe for processing, which is fundamentally different from fat client architecture.