Appendix A. Building Manageable Client/Server Projects

We often look at a client/server integration project as having two separate components, the client and the server. The client side has the user interface and maybe some business logic. The server side contains the database that handles data manipulation and storage. This two-sided view leaves out a critical third section, namely, the administration of the system.

If the administration side of the equation is ignored, you may end up with a beautiful and functional client talking to an industrial-strength server that is an absolute horror to administer. If you develop the project with the system administration and database administration tasks as a consideration from the beginning, you can ensure that the housekeeping functions of your project enjoy the same elegance and utility as the rest of the project.