application server

[‚ap·lə′kā·shən ‚ser·vər]

(computer science)

A computer that executes commands requested by a Web server to fetch data from databases. Also known as app server.

application server

(software)

A designer's or developer's suite of software that helps programmers isolate the business logic in their programs from the platform-related code. Application servers can handle all of the application logic and connectivity found in client-server applications. Many application servers also offer features such as transaction management, clustering and failover, and load balancing; nearly all offer ODBC support.

Application servers range from small footprint, web-based processors for intelligent appliances or remote embedded devices, to complete environments for assembling, deploying, and maintaining scalable multi-tier applications across an enterprise.

application server

(software)

Production programs run on a mid-sized computer that handle all application operations between browser-based computers and an organisation's back-end business applications or databases. The application server works as a translator, allowing, for example, a customer with a browser to search an online retailer's database for pricing information.

application server

(hardware)

The device on which application server software runs. Application Service Providers offer commercial access to such devices.

Citrix Application Serving White Paper.

Application Server Sites, a list maintained by Vayda & Herzum.

The Application Server Zone at DevX,.

TechMetrix Research's Application Server Directory,.

This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

application server

(1) In a non-Web environment, an application server performs the business logic (the data processing), although some business logic may be handled by the user's machine. See file server.

Three-Tier Client/Server

An application server in a three-tier client/server environment provides middle tier processing between the user's machine and the database management system (DBMS).

(2) In a private or public Web environment (intranet or Internet), an application server hosts a variety of language systems used to query databases. These scripts and services, such as Active Server Pages (ASPs), Java server pages (JSPs) and Java servlets, typically access a database to retrieve up-to-date data presented to users via their browsers or client applications.

The application server may reside in the same computer as the Web server (HTTP server) or be in a separate computer. In large sites, multiple application servers and multiple Web servers (HTTP servers) are used. Examples of Web application servers include BEA Weblogic Server and IBM's WebSphere Application Server. See Web server.

Application Servers & Web Servers

There is overlap between an application server and a Web server, as both can perform similar tasks. The Web server (HTTP server) can invoke a variety of scripts and services to query databases and perform business processing, and application servers often come with their own HTTP server which delivers Web pages to the browser.

Java EE Application Server

Application servers have become the middleware for the enterprise as they provide more hooks into many legacy applications. This is a Java EE-compliant application server running only Java and using Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs) for the business logic. See EJB.

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