In this tutorial, we will see the difference between a web application and a desktop application.
A web application is an application stored at a remote server. It requires a web browser to run and the internet for data or resource transfer.
Whereas, a desktop application is an application designed to serve standalone machines that don’t require the internet for its operation.
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Web Application vs Desktop Application
Web Applications | Desktop Applications |
---|---|
Deployment and up-gradation for a web-based application require deployment on a single set of server machines. | Deployment and any up-gradation/patch are done on individual client machines separately. |
Web applications can be accessed from anywhere, so there is no location constraint. | As desktop are confined to a standalone machine, so they can be only accessed from the machines they are deployed in. |
Web applications are platform-independent, they can work in different types of platforms with the only requirement of a web browser. | Desktop applications need to be developed separately for different platform machines. |
Web applications are at higher security risks as they are inherently designed to increase accessibility. | Desktop applications, on the other hand, have better authorization and administrators have better control, hence more secure. |
Web applications rely heavily on internet connectivity, for there operation. | Desktop applications don’t require the internet for their operations. Some applications just require internet connectivity at the time of updations. |
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Kuldeep is the founder and lead author of ArtOfTesting. He is skilled in test automation, performance testing, big data, and CI-CD. He brings his decade of experience to his current role where he is dedicated to educating the QA professionals. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.
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