The quantum advancement of technology and it's widespread
availability are key factors that have made the age of distributed computing possible.
When it comes to the world of Information Technology, the Internet and the sudden rise of the
World Wide Web have changed all the rules.
The rapid acceptance of Internet and Web technologies will greatly accelerate the move toward multi-tier application architectures in all environments.
Using tiers provides a flexible and dynamic solution for integrating and extending today's complex computer systems.
A layered or 'tiered' computer architecture enhances the ability to manage both network and application complexity by using a divide-and-conquer approach.
If there is a multi-platform requirement, or one that involves interfacing with legacy systems, the need for multiple tiers becomes critical.
(See [Client/Server and the N-Tier Model ] or [Distributed Computing] for more details.)
Developers can now create N-Tier client/server applications using powerful Middleware technologies, such as TP monitors, application-partitioning tools, application servers, or distributed objects.
See [Middleware]
or [Application Development] for more
details.
