Client

A client is defined as a program that accesses another program or computer over a network via remote capability. The term originally referred to devices that were incapable of operating stand-alone programs, but were able to remotely interact by way of a network. In this instance, terminals were considered to be clients of a mainframe computer. Client-server models are frequently used today on the web. This enables a user to connect to any service operating through a remote system. Web browsers, such as Internet Explorer, act as clients to retrieve web pages for display on a computer. Email clients are also used to retrieve messages from the mail storage servers of their service providers. Many chat rooms also use them to allow users to interact in real-time. Large programs are increasingly being modified to web sites in order to make the web browser a sort of universal client. This reduces the trouble of downloading robust software onto a computer in order to use the program. A perfect example would be the growing use of webmail.