Client–server

Picture yourself sitting at a table in a restaurant. You are the customer (the client) and you want to order some food. There is another person called the server who is there to take your order, bring your food and refill your drink.

In the computer world, we also have clients and servers. The client is like you in the restaurant - it's a computer or a device like a phone, tablet or smartwatch that wants to get something - like a website or an app. The server is like the waiter or waitress in the restaurant - it's a computer that's there to help and provide the client with what it's asking for.

When you open a web browser on your computer or phone, you are actually acting as a client. You type in the website you want to visit in the address bar, and the client sends a request to the server to get the information you need to see on that website. The server then responds, sending you back the webpage your client requested.

This "conversation" between the client and the server can happen in many different ways depending on the technology being used, but in general, the client sends requests and the server sends responses - just like in the restaurant where you order and the server brings you food.

So, the client-server relationship is like the relationship between a customer and a waiter or waitress in a restaurant. The client (customer) asks for something (like a website), and the server (waiter/waitress) provides it.