Client-Server Model
The foundational architecture of the web: clients (browsers, apps) send requests and servers process them and return responses. Every web interaction follows this pattern.
What is Client-Server Model?
The foundational architecture of the web: clients (browsers, apps) send requests and servers process them and return responses. Every web interaction follows this pattern.
Client-Server Model is a foundational concept that sits in the Core Fundamentals area of system design. Engineers reach for it whenever they need to reason about real-world trade-offs in that space — not just for textbook correctness, but because real production systems at companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Google make these decisions every day.
If you want to go deeper than this definition — with diagrams, code, and a quiz to lock it in — work through the "Client-Server Model" lesson linked below. It walks through the why, the mechanism, the trade-offs, and how the giants actually use it in production.
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Full interactive lesson with diagrams, code examples, real-world references, and a quiz.
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Related glossary terms you might want to look up next.
HTTP
The protocol powering the web. A request-response model where clients ask for resources and servers respond. Stateless by design.
REST API
An architectural style for building APIs using standard HTTP methods (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE). Resources are identified by URLs.
API
Application Programming Interface: a contract defining how two pieces of software talk to each other. The waiter between your frontend and your backend.