Custom Client Applications

In the previous scenario, we discussed replacing the desktop client application with an application contained inside a Web browser. However, a client application need not live inside a browser in order to have Internet capabilities built into it. A user's familiar desktop application can incorporate Internet features with no more change to the user interface than the addition of a menu command or a button on the toolbar. Some of the ways you can do this include:

Develop a custom client application that uses HTTP (and possibly other Internet protocols) to interact with one or more servers over the Internet.
Technology: Standard Internet protocols (for example HTTP) through Windows Sockets.

Use the WinInet application so the above custom client application is easier to develop and receives the other benefits of these applications, such as retrieved file caching.
Technology: The Win32Ò WinInet set of applications.

Develop a custom client application that uses the Internet Explorer as a Windows (OLE) Automation server for interaction with HTTP servers.
Technology: Windows (OLE) Automation and Internet Explorer, and possibly the Internet Explorer Adaptation Kit (IEAK).

Develop a custom client application that contains a Web browser implemented by using the HTML control provided as part of Internet Explorer.
Technology: Windows (OLE) Automation, OLE, and the Internet Explorer HTML ActiveX Control.

It is important to keep in mind that adding Internet capability to existing business applications is not an "all or nothing, everything at once" proposition. After the initial move to the Web, new Internet capabilities can be added incrementally, as new technologies emerge and stabilize, and as the need for the enhancements and functionality become apparent.