Can function points be used for client/server systems?
Yes. In the simplest case, the user may be unaware of whether she is using a program running on a central computer or a set of programs running on various computers across a network. In fact, in the wonderful world of client/server, your application can abend (reach an abnormal end) because of a failure on a computer that you did not even know existed! This presents a strong argument that client-server systems can be counted just like any other ones. Unfortunately, client/server does introduce some complications into the counting process. Accounting for the development of a technical infrastructure is often a challenge. The technical infrastructure can be composed of database managers, middleware, APIs and other components that are used by the developers. Installing this infrastructure is often a completely separate project. Are there function points associated with this project? If so, is the count performed as if the application developers are the users of the infrastructure?
