K-Point Internet Solutions
Innovative web application development and attractive website designs.
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Web Application Development
Web applications are, in a nutshell, "web-based software applications". They deliver the type of functionality that people have come to expect from traditional desktop-based software, but over an Internet or intranet connection, and accessed via a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. That explains the the "desktop / web-based" distinction, but for many there is a more fundamental question - what exactly is an application?
What do you mean application?
In general IT terms an application is something which helps users complete a specific task or set of tasks. Most computer users are familiar with software such as Microsoft Word, a software "application" which makes it easy to draft letters and documents, or Sage Accounts, another "application" to help manage financial and accounting data. These packages help us organise our thoughts as well as our business data, and give us a nice easy means of "getting things done", producing some tangible results in the form of a printed letter or a set of accounts.
Web applications are the web-based equivalent of these software packages, fulfilling the same type or roles as these traditional products but via a web or Internet browser. But they also go much further, harnessing the power of the web and its growing family of cutting edge technologies to open up a whole new world of possibilities, from sharing data with other related sites and companies, to integrating powerful third-party applications such as Google Maps into your own environment. Advances in web development technologies have led to the appearance of functionality such as "drag-and-drop" and" in-place editing" within the browser, behaviours which used to be exclusive to Windows desktop programs.
Benefits of web-based
No matter what the exact nature of your application, the same core benefits are on offer:
- access the application from anywhere on the planet with an Internet connection
- easy distribution by the supplier, including easy upgrades
- no software installed locally on your PC, except an Internet browser
- ability to integrate with other applications and web services
- secure, encrypted data transfer using secure certificate technology
The last benefit in particular has massive potential to empower small businesses, exchanging data with other application providers such as Google Maps to enrich your own users' experiences.
So what is it our developers do?
Most people don't really care how we work behind the scenes, as long as we deliver a quality solution to their requirements, but more and more people are interested to find out at a high level how their applications are constructed. It's quite techy but to set the scene we, as developers, basically work with applications in three tiers.
- presentation
- application logic
- data storage
The presentation layer concerns what you see as the user - an intuitive layout of screens outlining the various steps you have to take to achieve specified goals, showing relevant data in the appropriate context, and making it easy for users to interact with that data.
The second tier, the application logic, is the brains of the operation. It is this layer within the application architecture where all the decisions are made using business rules defined by the customer and our developers.
The data storage layer comprises a database responsible for storing all your customer, product and order data, the core data which powers your business.
By helping you model your business data and processes more clearly, and identifying your specific business requirements, our application developers offer you a streamlined solution to perform your everyday functions. The platform upon which we build our applications also provides a transparent framework which allows applications to evolve with your business.
A web application can be anything you want it to be - anything which makes it easier for you to get things done.