I was discussing the differences between Windows and Web architecture with Management today for a new client application opportunity. I've been making references to Smart Client architecture in various conversations with him for months. Today he stopped me mid-stream and after a pause said, “You're talking about the difference between a Standalone application and the Web.“ And he understood me for the first time. Personally, I've not heard the term “Standalone Application“ for quite some time, but that's how he can understand the Smart Client verses Web Forms debate. We in IT, in our obsession to use the latest buzz terms do ourselves a disservice when we expect business decision makers to think in our constructs. This extremely savvy business executive I talked to today cannot care about ClickOnce or running applications in a disconnected state until he has an image in his head of what a Smart Client is. And I'm down with “Standalone” if it does the job, baby. It implies a top heavy, non-connected architecture, but only an elitist doofus would have a problem with the word if it makes the sale.
So that covers the first aspect of this post on Smart Client architecture: the importance of using nomenclature that the boss or the client understands.
The second “Pwop” of the day (as Carl Franklin describes the sound of smacking one's forehead) was in discussing Smart Client deployment of the potential application on a large number of client desktops. I was okay, as was my boss, with the idea of “selling” .NET as a strategy on the client as a pre-requisite for this sexy, rich desktop app. Then I described how ClickOnce in .NET 2.0 eliminates current issues in deployment “except requiring administrative access on the client to install the Framework.” Except requiring administrative access on the client to install the Framework???? At that point my argument for a Smart Client architecture faltered and I stopped believing. Except requiring administrative access on the client to install the Framework? I mean, geee-zus! How in the hell do we ask a client's IT systems staff to install the .NET Framework on 100 or 1000 desktops? (that's version 1.1 for the Q1 2005 deployment, please, and oh, by the way, will you do it again for us Q4 2005 when we upgrade the app to .NET 2.0? THANKS!)
So whether I call the app a Standalone, Rich Client, Quail in Flight, or Lincoln Log Dream Factory, the first and foremost question in determining the choice of a web or windows app design for a client application opportunity is “will your IT systems support staff install the .NET Framework?” And if your experience with IT system support is anything like mine, you will quickly conclude that requiring Administrative Rights to install the .NET Framework--to install your Smart Client application--is a deal buster.