Editing Client (computing) (section)

==Types==
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Client types and their features
|
!<small>Relies on <br />local storage</small>
!<small>Relies on <br />local [[CPU]]</small>
|-
!Fat client
|{{Yes}}
|{{Yes}}
|-
!Diskless node
|{{no}}
|{{Yes}}
|-
!Thin client
|{{no}}
|{{no}}
|}
In one classification, client computers and devices are either [[thick client]]s, [[thin client]]s, or [[diskless node]]s.

===Thick===
{{main|Thick client}}

A ''thick client'', also known as a ''rich client'' or ''fat client'', is a client that performs the bulk of any data processing operations itself, and does not necessarily rely on the [[Server (computing)|server]]. The [[personal computer]] is a common example of a fat client, because of its relatively large set of features and capabilities and its light reliance upon a server. For example, a computer running an [[Art software|art program]] (such as [[Krita]] or [[Sketchup]]) that ultimately shares the result of its work on a network is a thick client. A computer that runs almost entirely as a standalone machine save to send or receive files via a network is by a standard called a [[workstation]].

===Thin===
{{main|Thin client}}
[[File:PCExpanion.jpg|thumb|A thin client computer]]

A ''thin client'' is a minimal sort of client.  Thin ''clients'' use the resources of the host computer. A thin client generally only presents processed data provided by an [[application server]], which performs the bulk of any required data processing. A device using [[web application]] (such as [[Office Web Apps]]) is a thin client.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last1=Baratto |first1=Ricardo A. |last2=Kim |first2=Leonard N. |last3=Nieh |first3=Jason |title=Proceedings of the twentieth ACM symposium on Operating systems principles |chapter=THINC: A virtual display architecture for thin-client computing |url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/1095810.1095837 |series=Sosp '05 |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |pages=277–290 |doi=10.1145/1095810.1095837 |date=20 October 2005|isbn=9781595930798 |s2cid=723321 }}</ref>

===Diskless node===
A ''diskless node'' is a mixture of the above two client models. Similar to a fat client, it processes locally, but relies on the server for storing persistent data. This approach offers features from both the fat client (multimedia support, high performance) and the thin client (high manageability, flexibility). A device running an online version of the [[video game]] [[Diablo III]] is an example of diskless node.