TECH4200 Website Development Case Study 1 Sample
Assignment Details
Students must conduct research externally and included references in order to produce a well referenced assessment. You should use at least ten (10) sources of information and reference these in accordance with the Kaplan Harvard Referencing Style. These may include websites, social media sites, industry reports, census data, journal articles, and newspaper articles. These references should be presented as in-text citations and a referencing list at the end of your assessment (not included in the word limit). Wikipedia and other ‘popular’ sites are not to be used
1. You must submit your report in Word document or in PDF format.
2. The report should be well-structured and organised. It should include an introduction, body, and conclusion.
3. Your report should include the following:
a) Introduction: Provide a concise overview of the client-server architecture, its significance, and its influence on web development and browser behaviour.
b) Client-Side Components: Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the key components involved in the client-side of the architecture, such as the web browser, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Assess their functionalities, limitations, and impact on browser behaviour.
c) Server-Side Components: Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the key components involved in the server-side of the architecture, such as the web server, application server, and database. Assess their functionalities, performance, scalability, and security aspects.
d) Communication and Data Exchange: Evaluate the communication protocols used in client- server interactions, such as HTTP, and critically analyse their strengths and weaknesses. Assess the efficiency and security of data exchange methods, including request/response handling and data formats (e.g., JSON, XML).
e) Impact on Browser Behaviour: Conduct a critical analysis of how the client-server architecture influences various aspects of browser behaviour, including rendering, page loading, caching, and handling user interactions. Identify limitations and propose potential improvements or alternative approaches.
f) Emerging Trends and Future Directions: Discuss emerging trends and advancements in the client-server architecture and their potential impact on browser behaviour. Evaluate their potential benefits, challenges, and implications for web development.
g) Conclusion: Summarise the key findings and insights from the report, highlighting the critical evaluation of the client-server architecture and its relationship with browser behaviour.
4. The report should be properly referenced using appropriate academic sources.
5. Provide examples and illustrations to support your analysis.
6. Use clear and concise language to communicate your ideas effectively.
7. Please refer to the assessment marking guide to assist you in completing all the assessment criteria.
Solution
1. Introduction
Client-server architecture provides the basis for modern web development, influencing the way online content is presented, interacted with, and experienced by users. It conforms to a distributed model by which servers are asked for services or information by clients, essentially web browsers, and respond by executing the requested services and presenting content. This separation of functions facilitates scalability, security, and the maintenance of websites. From pages loading quickly and responsively to the handling of information as well as presentation, every feature of browser behaviour has been subject to this architecture (Ali, Alauldeen and Ruaa, 2020, p1-6). This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the client-server model, deconstructing the main elements on both sides, discussing how they interact, and considering the resultant effects on web performance and the user's overall experience. It will also note currently existing shortcomings as well as venture into futuristic developments that are transforming this domain.
2. Client-Side Components
Client-side components run on the user's browser, allowing for interaction and presentation. The main elements are:
Web Browser: Provides the means by which a user interacts with web content. Browsers interpret code (HTML, CSS, Java Script), build the Document Object Model (DOM), apply styles, and run scripts. Browsers such as Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox, and WebKit-based Safari are equipped with JS engines (as in Chrome's V8) and dev tools.
HTML: HyperText Markup Language supplies the structure of a website. It marks up paragraphs, images, links, and tables, making up the framework of a website (Rahmatika, Pauziah and Mursito, 2021, p 19- 25).
CSS: The Aesthetic layer is controlled by Cascading Style Sheets. It establishes layout, colors, fonts, and responsiveness. Layout control is supported by techniques such as Flexbox and Grid on different sizes of screens.
JavaScript: It provides interactivity by controlling the DOM as well as handling events triggered by users. It supports AJAX, as well as fetch APIs for asynchronous page queries without page refreshes, hence improving user interaction (Ollila, 2021, p3-8).
Limitations:
• Its uses can result in rendering delays.
• Differences in CSS and JS interpretation by different browsers can result in inconsistencies.
• Client-side code is also subject to XSS attacks and needs to be properly sanitised.
3. Server-Side Components
Server-side components are at the center of backend operations in a client-server framework that provides users with secure access to dynamic content, accurate of data, and responsive web applications. The server-side components are vital to handle user requests for university assignment help , update databases, and apply security measures that safeguard valuable information (Dib, El Khoury and Pierre, 2023, p2-13).
Server: A web server such as Microsoft IIS, Nginx, or Apache, receives incoming HTTP or HTTPS requests from clients. Static content such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript files, and images are delivered directly by it, while dynamic requests are forwarded to the application server. These servers provide load balancing and effective resource management and are commonly set up with SSL certificates as well as firewalls for security.
Application Server: This tier is used to run the business logic of a web application. Application servers translate user input, perform computations, and send back dynamic content. Application servers such as Node.js, Django, Flask, Java EE, and ASP.NET are popular. Application servers are also used for user session management, handling forms, authentication, and accessing external APIs (JANARTHANAN, 2023, 1-42).
Databases: Databases are used as the foundation of data storage to enable operations like user management, content updating, and transaction handling. The most commonly used databases are MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB. Proper database design provides consistency in data, faster queries by means of indexing, and support for ACID properties for transaction consistency.
Important Considerations
• Performance: Backend operations need to provide speedy responses, even under traffic bursts. Caching and query optimization ensure this.
• Scalability: The systems can grow horizontally or vertically to accommodate growing demands with solutions such as Docker, Kubernetes, or a load balancer.
• Security: Server-side layers must enforce strict validation, encryption, and access control mechanisms to prevent SQL injection, session hijacking, and data breaches.
4. Communication and Data Exchange
Client-server communication is at the core of web architecture. It makes sure that information and instructions are transmitted securely and quickly from the client to the server. Multiple protocols and formats for exchanging information enable such interaction, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.
HTTP/HTTPS: Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is the foundation of web-based data exchange. It prescribes the structure of the requests and responses. HTTPS, a variant of HTTP, applies TLS encryption to provide privacy and integrity for the information during transmission, securing users from eavesdropping attacks as well as man-in-the-middle attacks (Bergen, 2022, p54-68).
Request–response model
• The client starts by sending a request (for instance, a webpage or a form submission).
• The server accepts the request, processes it, potentially accessing an application or database, and sends back the correct response, either as HTML content, as
JSON data, or as status codes.
Data Formats:
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation): The most popular format used in contemporary web development because of its lightweight nature and built-in compatibility with JavaScript (Zhou, 2022, p1771-1774).
XML (eXtensible Markup Language): Once widely used, XML is less concise and is more complicated to parse in current JavaScript-dominated environments.
Strengths:
• The stateless nature of HTTP promotes simplicity, ensuring that the protocol remains lightweight and easy to scale because the servers don't retain session information.
• JSON facilitates flexible, readable formats and is native to JavaScript, thus well-suited for web APIs as well as new web applications.
Weaknesses:
• HTTP's stateless nature can make it challenging to develop applications that need persistent sessions, so extra tools such as local storage, session tokens, or cookies are needed.
• JSON, by default, does not enforce schema, which can lead to inconsistent or malformed data in the absence of proper validation.
5. Influence on Browser Behavior
Client-server structure is a main factor in determining how a browser functions, both visually and in its performance. An important aspect of a seamless user experience is how well a browser interacts with server responses and manages content updates and rendering.
Rendering: Browsers translate HTML into the DOM, apply styles through CSS, and run JavaScript to build and paint a webpage. Dynamic updates on the DOM by JavaScript tend to cause reflows and repaints, which, if not managed well, can degrade visual consistency and performance (Gulab, 2023, p1-14).
Page Loading: Page loading involves fetching several resources by the browsers. It is influenced by the number of HTTP requests as well as their size, CDN usage, as well as lazy media elements and script implementations. Effective loading tends to enhance user retention as well as user experience.
Caching: Caching enables browsers to locally store resources that are used most often, greatly minimizing page loads. HTTP headers such as Cache-Control, ETag, and Last-Modified can control cache validation and freshness.
User Interaction: JavaScript facilitates instant responses to user actions like clicks or form submissions without requiring a full page refresh. This makes the page more responsive and interactive (Ikkala et al., 2021, p69-84).
Limitations and Improvements
• Large payloads or high initial server response time can cause delayed rendering.
• Utilizing server-side rendering (SSR), content delivery optimisation, and implementing performance budgets can address these concerns as well as improve the efficiency of the browser.
6. Emerging Trends and Future Directions
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs): PWAs blend online and mobile functionality, include offline support, provide push messages, and enable instant loading via service workers. They replicate native apps yet run completely on the browser (Jhala, 2021, p1-4).
Serverless Architecture: Serverless platforms such as AWS Lambda enable developers to deploy backend functions with no server management. They enable auto-scaling and minimize operations overhead, however, debugging can be complicated.
Edge Computing: Edge computing processes information closer to users through CDNs or edge servers. It decreases latency and improves performance in real-time applications such as gaming or streaming of videos.
HTTP/3 and QU: Based on QUIC, HTTP/3 optimizes performance and connection reliability. It supports quicker data transfer and is especially useful on mobile or unreliable networks.
7. Conclusion
Client-server architecture remains a fundamental paradigm in web development, allowing users to interact smoothly with servers. By assigning functions, client-side for presentation and interaction, and server-side for logic and information maintenance, client-server architecture provides flexible, secure, and dynamic web experiences. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript improve the presentation, with servers responsible for handling data processing and delivering applications. Data transfer, supported by protocols such as HTTP/HTTPS as well as formats such as JSON or XML, provides efficiency and security. Browser behaviour, page loading, caching content, as well as handling users' interactions, relies squarely on this architecture's design and performance. Although it offers multiple benefits, developers face issues such as latency, varying levels of browser support, as well as multi-threat evolving attacks. But as new-edge technologies such as serverless computing, edge processing, HTTP/3, as well as WebAssembly advance, the client-server architecture is rapidly transforming. These new technologies hold the promise to develop more responsive, energy-efficient, as well as future-proof web applications, strengthening the architecture's position for growth in a growingly digital world.
8. Reference
1. Ali, S., Alauldeen, R. and Ruaa, A., 2020. What is client-server system: architecture, issues and challenge of client-server system. HBRP Publication, 2(1), pp.1-6. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sawsan-Ali-6/publication/339340046_What_is_Client-Server_System_Architecture_Issues_and_Challenge_of_Client_-Server_System_Review/links/5e4c64c5458515072da88cd7/What-is-Client-Server-System-Architecture-Issues-and-Challenge-of-Client-Server-System-Review.pdf
2. Bergen, E.R., 2022. Dynamic data exfiltration over common protocols via socket layer protocol customization (Doctoral dissertation, Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School). https://calhoun.nps.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/39b1a7b9-2030-47ca-b93a-bb484d69d22c/content
3. Dib, M., El Khoury, F. and Pierre, S., 2023. Hsm–Based Architecture to Secure Server-Side Data. Available at SSRN 4621998. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4621998
4. Gulab, J., 2023, October. DOM Instrumentation to Display Provenance Data. In Wellington Faculty of Engineering Symposium. https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/wfes/article/view/8404
5. Ikkala, E., Hyvönen, E., Rantala, H. and Koho, M., 2021. Sampo-UI: A full stack JavaScript framework for developing semantic portal user interfaces. Semantic Web, 13(1), pp.69-84. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3233/SW-210428
6. JANARTHANAN, N., 2023. WEB DEVELOPMENT AND SERVER HOSTING. https://jana9047.github.io/Janarthanan_Portfolio/Internship%20Reports/Futurik.pdf
7. Jhala, D., 2021. A study on progressive web apps as a unifier for native apps and the web. International journal of engineering research & technology (ijert),
10(5), pp.2278-0181. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/67435576/a_study_on_progressive_web_apps_as_a_unifier_IJERTV10IS050139-libre.pdf?1622030440=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DIJERT_A_Study_on_Progressive_Web_Apps_As.pdf&Expires=1744018177&
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CqrWtBm6X2CGMEpDwva34~E-ddtkAMoz6Rq~JOZEZNF7oiDrfeeMFglQD1aNjF8ClreP6hptlku9eskscBT6TXrlMg2gny6lZS6EKZKBzjky6Ehq8S~
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8. Ollila, R., 2021. A performance comparison of rendering strategies in open source web frontend frameworks. University of Helsinki, Master’s Thesis, https://helda. helsinki. fi/items/e4b8169d-779b-41e0-a784-dba708902320,(20.10. 2023). https://helda.helsinki.fi/server/api/core/bitstreams/d2e1056f-4523-460e-ac4a-453296d08238/content
9. Rahmatika, R., Pauziah, U. and Mursito, H., 2021. HTML-Based Website Learning Training (Hypertext Markup Languange). REKA ELKOMIKA: Jurnal Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat, 2(1), pp.19-25. https://ejurnal.itenas.ac.id/index.php/rekaelkomika_pkm/article/view/5076/2600
10. Zhou, M., 2022, June. A review of Javascript object notation in data analysis. In 2022 8th international conference on humanities and social science research (ICHSSR 2022) (pp. 1771-1774). Atlantis Press. https://www.atlantis-press.com/proceedings/ichssr-22/125975018
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