distributed system

A collection of (probably heterogeneous) automata whose

distribution is transparent to the user so that the system

appears as one local machine. This is in contrast to a

network, where the user is aware that there are several

machines, and their location, storage replication, load

balancing and functionality is not transparent. Distributed

systems usually use some kind of client-server organisation.

Distributed systems are considered by some to be the "next

wave" of computing.

Distributed Computing Environment is the Open SoftwareFoundation's software architecture for distributed systems.

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(1994-12-06)