By Jason Bloomberg
A mere half a lifetime ago, applications were simply computer programs, running in one place at a time. Client/server architecture soon distributed the applications, and then the web centralized them once again by relegating the user interface to a browser thin client.
Today the pendulum swings back to distributed applications, but the modern application looks nothing like the client/server apps of the last century. Instead, its various components may be running in several clouds, in on-premises data centers, or perhaps on the edge.
This enormous complexity, fortunately, is ‘under the covers’ – hidden from view from today’s savvy digital end-users. From their perspective, these ‘apps’ – the word ‘application’ is no longer simple enough – are nothing but an icon on the screen of a smartphone. Even that icon may be too much to ask. How about ‘OK Google, what is the temperature?’
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