前两天接了一个项目，做了之后发现速度快多了，感觉只有真正做起来才会更加注意翻译过程中的用词，中英文的不同表达方式，等等。
For smaller companies, all the computers are likely to be in a single office or perhaps a single building, but for larger ones, the computers and employees may be scattered over dozens of offices and plants in many countries. Nevertheless, a sales person in New York might sometimes need access to a product inventory database in Singapore. In other words, the mere fact that a user happens to be 15,000 km away from his data should not prevent him from using the data as though they were local. This goal may be summarized by saying that it is an attempt to end the ''tyranny of geography.''
就一些小公司而言，所有的计算机可能放在一间办公室或者在一栋楼里；但对大公司来说，计算机和员工可能分散在不同国家的几十个办公室或工厂里。然而，纽约的销售人员有时需要进入到新加坡的产品库存数据库。换句话说，如果用户只是离数据15,000km，这并不能阻止他使用这些数据，就好像这些数据存放在本地一样。计算机网络的这个目标可以概括为打破“地理位置的束缚（tyranny of geography）”。
In the simplest of terms, one can imagine a company's information system as consisting of one or more databases and some number of employees who need to access（访问） them remotely. In this model, the data are stored on powerful computers called servers. Often these are centrally housed and maintained by a system administrator. In contrast, the employees have simpler machines, called clients, on their desks, with which they access remote data, for example, to include in spreadsheets they are constructing. (Sometimes we will refer to the human user of the client machine as the ''client,'' but it should be clear from the context whether we mean the computer or its user.) The client and server machines are connected by a network, as illustrated in Fig. 1-1. Note that we have shown the network as a simple oval, without any detail. We will use this form when we mean a network in the abstract sense. When more detail is required, it will be provided.
用最简单的术语，你可以把一个公司的信息系统想象成由一个或多个数据库及一些需要远程获得这些数据的员工组成的。在这种模式下，数据储存在性能较大的计算机内，称为服务器（server）。通常，这些数据位于同一个场所，由系统管理员维护。相应地，在员工的桌上，是相对简单的机器，称作客户（client）。通过这些客户，员工可以访问远程数据，例如，远程访问包括他们建立的电子表格在内的一些数据（有时，我们会把客户计算机的用户看作“客户”，但必须弄清楚所在的语境，客户到底是指计算机还是计算机的使用者）。客户和服务器通过网络联系在一起，如图1-1所示。需要注意的是，我们把网络示意成一个简单的椭圆形，没有详细的列出一些具体的细节。当我们把网络看作是抽象意义的网络时，我们用这种形式来表达。当有需要的时候，我们也会提供更详细的说明。
This whole arrangement is called the client-server model. It is widely used and forms the basis of much network usage. It is applicable when the client and server are both in the same building (e.g., belong to the same company), but also when they are far apart. For example, when a person at home accesses a page on the World Wide Web, the same model is employed, with the remote Web server being the server and the user's personal computer being the client. Under most conditions, one server can handle a large number of clients.
这整个的结构称作客户－服务模型(client-server model)。这种模型如今已被广泛应用，并成为许多网络应用的基础。当客户和服务器在同一栋楼里（比如，同在一个公司），或离得很远时，都可以用客户-服务模型。例如，一个人在家登入万维网时，就是使用这种模型，其中，远程的网页服务器是该模型中的服务器，而用户的个人电脑是该模型中的客户。在大多数情况下，一台服务器可以处理大批量的客户数据。
If we look at the client-server model in detail, we see that two processes are involved, one on the client machine and one on the server machine. Communication takes the form of the client process sending a message over the network to the server process. The client process then waits for a reply message. When the server process gets the request, it performs the requested work or looks up the requested data and sends back a reply. These messages are shown in Fig. 1-2.
如果我们仔细审视客户－服务模式，会发现这里实际上包含两个过程，一个位于客户机器上的，一个位于服务器上的。其中的通信形式是这样的，客户进程通过网络将一个消息发送给服务器进程。然后，客户进程等待回复消息。当服务器进程得到请求消息之后，便执行所请求的工作或者检查客户所需要的数据，发送应答消息。这些消息如图1-2所示。
A second goal of setting up a computer network has to do with people rather than information or even computers. A computer network can provide a powerful communication medium among employees. Virtually every company that has two or more computers now has e-mail (electronic mail), which employees generally use for a great deal of daily communication. In fact, a common gripe around the water cooler is how much e-mail everyone has to deal with, much of it meaningless because bosses have discovered that they can send the same (often content-free) message to all their subordinates at the push of a button.
建立计算机网络的第二个目标是为了满足人的需要，而不是心细或计算机的需要。一个计算机网络可以在员工间提供强大的通信媒介（communication medium）。实际上，每个公司都有两台或者多台计算机有电子邮件(electronic mail，E-mail),员工通常用电子邮件来处理大量日常交流信息。事实上，这样带来的一个问题是，每人要处理大量邮件，而这些邮件大部分是无意义的，因为老板们发现他们按一下键，便可以将同样的信息（通常是无内容的）发送给所有的下属。
But e-mail is not the only form of improved communication made possible by computer networks. With a network, it is easy for two or more people who work far apart to write a report together. When one worker makes a change to an online document, the others can see the change immediately, instead of waiting several days for a letter. Such a speedup makes cooperation among far-flung groups of people easy where it previously had been impossible.
然而，e-mail并不是计算机网络带来的新型通信的唯一形式。有了计算机网络，两个或几个相距较远的人可以一同写同一个报告，这是非常容易做到的。当其中一人对在线文档做修改时，其他人即可看到他所做的修改，而不用花好几天时间等一封信件。这种快捷处理方式使相隔很远工作组之间的协同工作变得非常容易，这在以前来说，根本就不可能。
Yet another form of computer-assisted communication is videoconferencing. Using this technology, employees at distant locations can hold a meeting, seeing and hearing each other and even writing on a shared virtual blackboard. Videoconferencing is a powerful tool for eliminating the cost and time previously devoted to travel. It is sometimes said that communication and transportation are having a race, and whichever wins will make the other obsolete.
还有一种计算机辅助通信的模式，即视频会议。通过使用这项技术，异地员工可以一起开会，听到对方的声音，看到对方的样子，甚至在共享的一块虚拟黑板上写字。视频会议是一个功能强大的工具，可以降低成本，节约以前花在路上的时间。人们常说，通信和运输在进行一场竞争，不管那一方赢了，另一方都要被被淘汰。
A third goal for increasingly many companies is doing business electronically with other companies, especially suppliers and customers. For example, manufacturers of automobiles, aircraft, and computers, among others, buy subsystems from a variety of suppliers and then assemble the parts. Using computer networks, manufacturers can place orders electronically as needed. Being able to place orders in real time (i.e., as needed) reduces the need for large inventories and enhances efficiency.
建立计算机网络的第三个目标是为日渐增多的公司提供与其他公司之间的电子化服务，特别是供应商和客户之间的服务。例如，汽车、飞机、计算机的生产商或其他一些生产商，从不同的供应商处购买子系统，再将这些部件装配起来。通过使用计算机网络，生产商可以电子化定购其所需要的产品。及时定购（即根据需要）能减少大量库存，提高效率。
A fourth goal that is starting to become more important is doing business with consumers over the Internet. Airlines, bookstores, and music vendors have discovered that many customers like the convenience of shopping from home. Consequently, many companies provide catalogs of their goods and services online and take orders on-line. This sector is expected to grow quickly in the future. It is called e-commerce (electronic commerce).
第四个目标是，也即现在变得越来越重要的是，与客户通过因特网开展业务。航空公司、书店、音乐零售商发现许多客户喜欢在家购物的便捷模式，很多公司在线提供货物及服务的目录，并可以在线定购。计算机网络的这种用途有望在将来得到进一步的发展。这种模式称作电子商务（electronic commerce；e-commerce）。
posted on 2006-04-07 16:25
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