UNIVERSITY OF BOLTON

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTING AND ELECTRQNIC TECHNOLOGY

ESC (HONS) COMPUTING

SEMESTER 2 EXAMINATIONS 200512006

CLIENT SERVER SOLUTIONS MODULE NO: CST3005

Date: Thursday 1 June 2006

Time: 6.00 prn - 8 . 0 0 1 pm

1NSTRUCTjONS TO CANDIDATES:

There are FIVE questions on this paper. Section A Questions Iand 2 are compulsory Section 8 Answer TWO questions from THREE.

All questions carry equal marks.

Page 2 of 3 Computing and Electronic Technology BSc (Hons) Computing Semester 2 Examination 2005/2006 CLIENT SERVER SOLUTION Module No. CST3005 Section A l a ) Draw diagrams to illustrate the difference between 'thin client' and 'fat client' approaches to the design of two-tier client-server solutions. The diagrams should include layers of software specific to the application as well as other operat~onal features. Provide a description of the function of the application and other layers of software that are operational in each tier. (jO marks)
b) Explain the difference between the content of the data passed over the network in the two following scenarios

i) A system written in a database language accessing data files on a shared server.

ii) A system written in a third generation language sending c o ~ m a n d s to a database engine on a server. (10 marks)
c) Visual Display Units allow user interaction with a program working on a mainframe or mini computer. Compare the functionality of a 'block-mode terminal" with a "character terminal" and explain the implication of these modes for the operating system on the computer. (I 0 marks) [Total 30 marks] 2a) Explain what is meant by the event-driven paradigm and its use within Visual Basic, including a reference to message-based client-server systems. (I 0 marks)
b) Descr~be ~ndetail the Use Change Grid and provide an example of how it can be used to define the effect of messages being sent from the server on the interface of the client program. (9 marks)

c) Provide details of the operation of the Bind method for the Winsock component (5 marks) d) Differentiate between 'connectionless' and 'connection-based' communications when using the Winsock component. (6 marks) rota1 30 marks]

Please turn the page

Page 3 of 3 Computing and Electronic Technology BSc (Hons) Computing Semester 2 Examination 2005J2006 CLIENT SERVER SOLUTION Module No. CST3005
Section B 3) Provide brief outlines of the software routines that are pre-defined within the transaction processing monitor (TPM) Tuxedo and explain how business logic is implemented. (10 marks)

Draw a diagram that illustrates the interaction of application software layers with the transaction processing monitor within a 3-tier solution and explain what data is passed between the hardware tiers. ( 5 marks) Describe what is meant by load balancing and comment on its significance. (5 marks) [Total 20 marks] 4a) Comment on the importance of XML within the Business to Business (B2B) community. (4 marks) b) What are the constructs available within an XML DTD and explain their relevance for the purpose of defining the XMi- structure of a document such as an invoice (6 marks) c) Assess the relevance of XML to an application programmer
(4 marks)

d) Explain what is meant by "Workflow" and comment on how the concept of roles supports flexible scheduling of employees. (6marks) [Total 20 marks] 5a) Compare the process of software development within Biztalk with the approach taken in standard third generation programming languages (eg C, Pascal, C++ ), illustrating your answer with diagrams. (12 marks) b) Present an outline of the principal features of a Biztalk application and explain their significance to commercial organizations who do not wish to discard their existing IT rnvestment. (8 marks) [Total 20 marks]

END OF QUESTIONS