What are the differences between client-side scripting and server-side scripting?

Answer 1

Web 2.0 applications have a server side and the choice of technologies to use server side is even more open than that client side. Client side is the user;s end of the experience, while server side is based on the server's end. As a developer, you can't impose a specific environment or browser client side because you must count on what is installed by your users and that's a severe restriction.

Server side, however, you decide which platforms, operating systems, programming languages, frameworks, and libraries will be used. The choice that has the most impact on the architecture of your applications is usually the programming language. Server side, any programming language can be used to implement various Web applications and the most popular choices are scripting languages such as PHP, Perl, Python, and Ruby, and interpreted languages such as Java and C#.

Client side scripts are executed and changed by the user on his side (the client side), while server side scripts are executed and changed by the user on the server. Server side scripts provide much more functionality for and by the wide variety of users (and their respective computer/browser settings) all around. Client side Scripting is possible to be blocked , where as server side scripting can't be blocked by the user , so if you validate using CLIENT SIDE only , and client side scripting blocked then even validation can not be done and directly even wrong data can be accepted and thus makes a flaw in the system.

Answer 2

As an example we'll use WikiAnswers. WikiAnswers is the server while you and I are clients. When you search WikiAnswers, a script/program executes on the server to find relevant information and return it to you or I in the form of a web page.

A client side script which is most commonly implemented using Javascript, is downloaded from the server to your computer in the form of a .js file. This script is executed solely on your computer and requires no processing by the server. Examples of this would be things such as a slideshows; pop-up windows; showing/hiding sub-menus.

Answer 3

In short, the user cannot alter the behavior of client-side scripting.

A local client-side script can be circumvented. For instance, a JavaScript used to validate form input can be manipulated by the user (they downloaded the source code into the browser. That's why it's "client-side.") In most browsers, the user can even make the decision to turn off JavaScript entirely. Then the form wouldn't validate anything before passing the data on to the form handler.

A server side script, however, is beyond the manipulation and control of the client. A user cannot access the server side software, and can't do anything to cause it not to execute (unless the programmers missed something big time.)

Server side languages also tend to be able to do more. The server is really just a specialized computer, and so those languages are just specialized programming languages. The client side languages tend to be "sand-boxed" to keep them from being able to run malicious code on your computer. Because of this, some of the functions performed by server side code aren't available, or even possible, with client side execution.

Answer 4

Client side scripting is executed on the person who views the web pages computer - this is normally written in JavaScript

Server side scripting is executed on the server that is hosting the web site - there are lots of different languages associated with this.

Answer 5

Script code is downloaded and executed at client end . The script is executed at the server-end and the result is sent to the client-end.