Client/Translator Relationship

There are two distinct client/translator deployment situations:

client and translator running on the same host

client and translator running on different hosts across a LAN/WAN, or intranet/internet

In the first case, known as "client/server", the translator is serving one client only for the duration of its life. The client connects when the translator is started.

In the second case, known as "web service", the translator acts as a service and can serve multiple clients who connect for short distinct bursts of communication activity. The process is started and stopped independent of client.

From the client's point of view both scenarios are the same, communication is with a service in discrete sessions.

From the translator's angle the scenarios are slightly different in that for single client deployment the translator can maintain a "state" between client sessions, whereas for multi-client deployment it must behave in a "stateless" way with no connection between client sessions which typically originate from different clients.

The client/translator deployment is determined by program command line options when the translator process is started. These are discussed later.