Technically distributed application means multitier development architecture. In traditional client server application, client sends request to server and on receipt of the request, server performs tasks to and return response to the client. In today's distributed application, new middle layers get involved who accept request from clients ranging from browser or other pc based application to handheld devices and they process business rules. This allows thin client development or browser based applications. They can be hosted on different machines for load sharing / load balancing.