>Thanks Steve, could you help me break it down just a little more?
>
>>N=3 usually where it's not a standalone FP app anymore.
>>1= Client && VFP, VB, Excell, Delphi Just forms and reports
>Cannot the client process business rules on a returned cursor. Cant n=1 do an interest computation, or is n=2 embedded in the client
>IS there a rule that states where N2 needs to be (at the server/ at the client)?
>
>>2= BizObjects && VFP, VB, Delphi All data rules and responsiblites
>What is a data rule: Does it mean the field name of the source data will be another field name for the target data. Or does it mean:This is where the interest is computed? Do BizObjs reside on (in?) the server, or can they reside with the client
>
>And where does COM fit. You have client COMs that seem to service processes (calculate the interest)
>You have server COMs that pass data request to the backend and then return an object to the client, right?
>Is a server COM, that process client requests an N2 item?
>
>>3= Data Base && Just the data
>And the data can be requested directly by the client, or through an intermediate COM that services client requests and returns data objects.
>So, if the client transacts directly with the server (like NT Network - what is the name for this kind of connection), the calls can be made through the clients ODBC to the 'back end'. WHat Tier is this kind of configuration?
>
>But (and, please, correct me if I'm off), if the client is getting data from an ISP, then client will need to transact through an ISP COM (server side com) that connects to the ISP's 'back end' through the ISP's ODBC? What tier is this kind of configuration?
>
>Help me on this: If the backend is located on an ISP, the client cannot directly call a (for example) stored procedure. The client will need either a CGI or COM service to get the data from an ISP? But inside the firewall, requests can be made (directly) through ODBC (right?).
>Thanks
>Terry
Sounds like you are getting the picture.
N=1 ,N=2 N=3 are all different separate systems. N1 could be a browser or a VFP exe. N2 could be as .ASP VFP or VB Script that is called by the page. N3 is just data.
N2 should do an interest computation. Should N1 do it? No, but 95% of VFP apps today do it in the GUI. What we foreget is that there is a bigger ocean out there.
N2 is either a .dll or an .exe. You createobject{ex}() to get to the functionality that is in your code. You pass data via ADO or XML back and forth. Now Fox plays well with others.
Just like hen you get an ActiveX component, you want it to do specific stuff. Your mind set should be that all of your N2 programming is to deliver a similar product.
Thre are others here who don't get this scale of functionality. They can do everything inside of FoxPro and can't split anything out of the EXE or the .dbf. I think that M$ wants us to make the middle tier more like an ActiveX control. That way someone in accounting who is an excell junkie can pull commissions from your .dll and use it in excell.
The last question is puzzling. If it's an ISP, then it could be an ASP page that calls a VFP... and that would all be on the same server. It wouldn't be a CGI script but it could be.
Granted all of this is my opinion, and others will dispute areas of it for various reasons. You find what works for you and stick with it.
__Stephen
