Glossary of Data Communications TermsCourtesy Enterprise-Wide Computing, Inc. |
Term:
client
Definition: One for whom services are provided. 1. In object-oriented programming, a member of a class (group) that uses the services of another class to which it is not related. See also inheritance (definition 1). 2. A process, such as a program or task, that requests a service provided by another program--for example, a word processor that calls on a sort routine built into another program. The client process uses the requested service without having to 'know' any working details about the other program or the service itself. Compare child (definition 1), descendant (definition 2). 3. On a local area network or the Internet, a computer that accesses shared network resources provided by another computer (called a server). See also client/server architecture, server. |