Choosing a Windows Forms Application Target

Windows Forms applications with the smart client feature combine the reach of the Web with the power of local computing hardware. They provide a rich user experience, with a response time as quick as the response times of equivalent client-server applications.

The smart client feature simplifies application deployment and updates, and can take advantage of Sybase®'s MobiLink™ technology to provide occasionally connected capability.

This table shows some of the advantages and disadvantages of Windows Forms applications with and without the smart client feature.

Application type	Advantages	Disadvantages
Windows Forms	Rich user experience Quicker response time Availability of client-side resources, such as 3D animation Offline capability	Requires client-side installation Difficult to upgrade
Windows Forms with smart client feature	Same advantages as Windows Forms without smart client feature Easy to deploy and upgrade	Requires first time client-side installation

Note: The PowerBuilder® smart client feature makes Windows Forms applications easy to upgrade while maintaining the advantages of quick response times and the ability to use local resources. For more information, see Intelligent Deployment and Update.

Although PowerBuilder® Classic continues to support traditional client-server as well as distributed applications, it also provides you with the ability to transform these applications into Windows Forms applications with relative ease.

How .NET Deployment Works
When you deploy a .NET project, PowerBuilder compiles existing or newly developed PowerScript® code into .NET assemblies.
Security Settings
PowerBuilder applications and components can run in partial trust environments when they are constrained by .NET code access security (CAS) configurations.
Strong-Named Assemblies
PowerBuilder can generate strong-named assemblies from all .NET Project painters.
ASP.NET Configuration for a .NET Project
You can configure ASP.NET for a smart client project before or after you deploy the project to an IIS 5.0 or later server.
Checklist for Deployment
Verify that production servers and target computers meet all requirements for running the .NET targets that you deploy from PowerBuilder Classic.

Parent topic: Windows Forms Targets