Distributed user applications

User applications usually consist of executable programs (binaries and scripts), support files (such as error message and language libraries), and data storage files or directories. Stand-alone applications operate on a single computer, with the binaries executing on the local CPU and on libraries and application data stored on the local hard disk.
Network applications, on the other hand, make use of the filesharing and file-copying capabilities of the network to:

• Distribute the system load from a server machine to users' desktop machines. For example, a database application may be exported via an NFS-mounted filesystem from a database server to a user's desktop machine. When the user runs the database program, his or her CPU does the processing. This allows for central maintenance of the database program and for efficient sharing of CPU resources.

• Create easily manageable data servers. For example, a calendar program may run on the local filesystem on many users' desktop machines, while the actual calendar data exists on a calendar server. The data is served to users as requested over TCP/IP. This allows for centralized maintenance of large user databases.

The key enabling technologies for distributed user applications are the supported network protocol stacks and filesharing capabilities such as NFS filesystems.

Your SCO OpenServer system provides these applications, which can be configured to operate locally or, with the Desktop or Enterprise systems, over the network:

• scocal, a user event calendar program

• DocView, the help system