This is, it seems, a valid question but one that's different from what Jim is dealing with.
A young man came to his Rabbi and asked, "Rabbi, what is the most important thing to gain in life?"
The Rabbis answered, "Good judjement."
The young man then asked, "How does one gain good judgement?"
Thinking for a moment the Rabbis answered, "Experience."
"How does one gain experience then?, the young man asked.
The Rabbis responded, "Bad judgement."
*g*
Where the various pieces of your N-Tier solution "fit" best is in many cases going to be the result of experience on your part and the cumulative experience of people like Jim, myself and a whole host of others.
The N-Tier approach, however, is most definitely the wave of the future and if you'll permit me to give you some free advice I'd learn it as thoroughly as possible. It will make your life easier. Jim's example of moving a process from the desktop to the Internet is a good one.
I'd just hate to see people get confused between two different issues:
1) *Is* the N-Tier approach solid and good? Yes, it is.
and
2) *How* do I best implement *my* N-Tier solution and do I need one?
Best,
Best,
DD
A man is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep for that which he cannot lose. Everything I don't understand must be easy! The difficulty of any task is measured by the capacity of the agent performing the work.
