Re: Pre Dev Q - Please

From: Rich Gibbs (rgibbs_at_REMOVEalumni.CAPSprinceton.edu)
Date: 11/24/04

  • Next message: Stefan Viljoen: "Re: Need help installing Fedora Core 3" 
    Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 23:34:46 -0500

    Miron said the following, on 11/23/04 01:48:
    > Rich,
    >
    > Thank you for your response. My lack of explanation is evident.
    >
    > I am desiring the most secure environment possible. By centralizing the
    > data storage and the execution of the application ...
    >
    > The application, becuase of where we have come to today by those leading the
    > user populas around... needs to have a graphical front end. The Linux world
    > does offer a Graphical Frontend but at the cost of running Xwindows. Is
    > this to understand that if a user to connect to the server that they would
    > have to have Xwindows abilities? Is there no other shell environment short
    > of Internet browsers?
    >

    OK.

    If you want a true graphical environment on Linux, then X (the X Window
      system) is the de facto standard. X was designed to be "network
    aware", so an application on machine A can display its output and get
    its keyboard and mouse input via an X server on machine B. (We were
    doing this for testing and support purposes across an ocean a dozen
    years ago.)

    Using X does not mean necessarily using a browser interface. There are
    many X applications besides browsers (e.g., Gnumeric, OpenOffice, xine,
    the GIMP). You can certainly build an application that has a server
    part that manages data storage and processing, and has an X-based
    graphical client front end. (This is the way many data base
    applications are built.) You could also consider GUI clients for POP or
    IMAP E-mail (such as K-Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird) as examples of this
    sort of thing. Using X directly to build this kind of interface can be
    painful; most applications use a toolkit like Gtk or Qt.

    The other interface choice, which I mentioned in my earlier post, is to
    use ncurses/curses, a set of library routines [man 3 ncurses] that give
    you a full-screen _character based_ interface. (The advantages are
    possibly easier programming, lighter resource consumption, and the
    ability to run on almost any kind of display device.) The 'mutt' or
    'pine' E-mail clients, or the 'vi' editor, would be examples of this
    kind of interface.

    You can run either type of interface over a network connection. The SSH
    [secure shell] facility can give you security for the _connection_.
    Security of data on the server, and on the client machine(s), is
    something to think about, too.

    > I am trying my hardest to stay away from developing an application to run
    > natively on any Micro$oft OS. Due to M$'s obvious lack of
    > security/stability understanding, need I say more? Additionally, each time
    > an enhancement (and God forbid, a bug update) needs to be applied, how many
    > machines would have to be updated? (yes, M$ terminal server is an option,
    > but again what about security? and to what expense to the client?)
    >

    I am certainly more comfortable, personally, with using Linux or Unix as
    the basis for a secure system, so I can sympathize with you here. (BTW,
    there are decent SSH clients for Windows available at low or no cost.)

    > Some underlying issues have to do with very personal information and would
    > have to be accessible from workstations located at various points throughout
    > a large/multi-story structure and may even include wireless...
    >

    This shouldn't in itself present a particular problem, if you are using
    a secure communications protocol. You may, though, want to think about
    the physical security (or lack thereof) for the client machines.

    > A GUI application executed from a Linux Server addresses some of my
    > concerns, but obviously not all of them.
    >
    > Possibly you might have another idea or some insight for me to consider?
    > Again, thank you.

    You are welcome, and you are welcome to E-mail me (address below) if you
    wish. 

    -- 
Rich Gibbs
rgibbs@alumni.princeton.edu
  • Next message: Stefan Viljoen: "Re: Need help installing Fedora Core 3"

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