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I was wondering what exactly is a web application? Is it a website with a database? Or a website that uses more advanced programming language as opposed to standard html and css.

I was wondering what exactly is a web application? Is it a website with a database? Or a website that uses more advanced programming language as opposed to standard html and css.

I would take a guess and say that a “web application” is a so-called Web 2.0 web page app which performs specific functions in a browser (going beyond XHTML, CSS, but with more Javascript and perhaps other tools); displaying certain information, communicating back to a web server database, etc. I would also segregate that definition from more capable applications which use PHP or other scripting languages.

thats sort of what I was thinking. I thought there may be something else that classifies a web application. Something that makes it different from a regular website. Web design agencies often offer both web design/development service and application development. So I thought it would be an interessting idea to try to come up with a better definition. So is a web site made with expression engine that uses some javascript a web application?

So I thought it would be an interessting idea to try to come up with a better definition. So is a web site made with expression engine that uses some javascript a web application?

Sometimes it helps to just ask them what they mean by “web application.” I suspect that the definition varies a bit between developers. A site developer that does web pages based on XHTML and CSS, but also does applications may create PHP apps, MySQL DBs, and other, more complex apps for specific purposes, not easily accomplished with basic XHTML, CSS, and Javascript.

I think you would be safe saying that a site on EE is using a web application, but the terminology isn’t exactly contextually accurate. I would say, “This site uses EE, which is a content management system (perhaps also defined as an application that presents dynamic pages and content to a web site—a web publishing system).

A a broad, general definition is here on Wikipedia. And Web 2.0, which is similar, though a bit different, can be found here on Wikipedia.

As you can see with both definitions, they’re general, and different, yet similar, overlapping. Some may define a Javascript widget that does something cute on screen as a web application, though I think that’s rather thin. I wouldn’t say EE is a web application (though it fits the definition) because CMS is more appropriate and specific. Applications, plugins, widgets created using jQuery or Moo Tools might be considered web applications, but, again, it doesn’t quite fit.

When people ask me what I do, I tell them, “I build and maintain the content management system for dynamic web sites.”

They usually leave me alone after that.

I’d say a web application in the broadest sense is anything that goes beyond just displaying content. It offers some kind of functionality based on any kind of program and the user interface runs in a browser.

A simple web application would be a little JavasScript that converts Fahrenheit to Celsius.

ExpressionEngine is a web application, a website created with EE not neccessarily.

When people ask me what I do, I tell them, “I build and maintain the content management system for dynamic web sites.”

They usually leave me alone after that.

Strange, when I give a similar answer, the next question usually is: “I have a problem with my email, could you have a look?”

To keep on topic, to me a web app is something that has the functionality of a standard app, but through a web interface: by that definition Gmail, Campaign Monitor or Basecamp are good examples of a web app.

When I think of web app, the first ones that come to my mind is also igoogle, gmail, mint, basecamp, online banking, etc. Usually something that has a user account and functionality beyond just displaying information.

From a technology point of view, do the apps that we mentioned (campaignmonitor, mint, etc) use the same languages and technology as a regular website? Some sort of database and some sort of way to connect to the database or call from it etc. Maybe some sort of script to enhances how the information is displayed or handled. (jquery or javascript).

It seems to me that there are certain websites that can be classified as a web application pretty easily and that there are some others that blend in between web app and standard website.