With the proliferation of available web browsers, you might wonder why you would want to write your own client program. The answer is that by writing your own client programs, you can leap beyond the preprogrammed functionality of a browser.
For example, the following scenarios are all possible:
For example, the following scenarios are all possible:
- An urgent document is sent out via Federal Express, and the sender wants to know the status of the document the moment it becomes available. He enters the FedEx airbill tracking number into a program that notifies him of events as the FedEx server reports them. Since the document is urgent, he configures the program to contact him if the document is not delivered by the next morning.
- A system administrator would like to verify that all hyperlinks and image references are valid at her site. She runs a program to verify all documents at the site and report the results. She then finds some common mistakes in numerous documents, and runs another program to automatically fix them.
- An investor keeps a stock portfolio online and runs a program to check stock prices. The online portfolio is updated automatically as prices change, and the program can notify the investor when there is an unusual jump in a stock price.
- A college student connects his computer to the Internet via an Ethernet connection in his room. The university distributes custom software that will allow his computer to wake him up every morning with local news. Audio clips are downloaded and a web browser is launched. As the sound clips play, the browser automatically updates to display a new image that corresponds to the report. A weather map is displayed when the local weather is being announced. Images of the campus are displayed as local news is announced. National and international news briefs are presented in this automatic fashion, and the program can be configured to omit and include certain topics. The student may flunk biology, but at least he’ll be the first to know who won the Bulls game.
