Home » DBMS

Database Users and User Interfaces in DBMS

In this tutorial, we will learn about the database users and user interfaces in database management system (DBMS). By Anushree Goswami Last updated : May 26, 2023

What are Database Users in DBMS?

Those persons who use a database and are granted access to read, insert, update, and delete specific records that define a set of fields and business rules is known as database user in DBMS.

What are the Different Types of Database Users in DBMS?

There can be four different types of users according to the way they interact with the system and for all the different users, different kind of user interfaces are designed as well. The four types of users are:

1. Naive users
2. Application Programmers
3. Sophisticated Users
4. Online Analytical Processing (OLAP)

Let us have a look over all the four users and their interfaces:

1) Naive Users

Naive users are also termed as unsophisticated users and they interact with the system by calling anyone application program that has been written previously.

For e.g. – To transfer the program from one account to another, there is a need for an application program called transfer.

The user interface that is required for the naïve users is a forms interface, in which the user can fill the required fields.

Naive users can also easily read the reports that are generated from the database.

2) Application programmers

Application programmers are the one who is responsible to write the application programs. They develop user interfaces through different tools. To construct the forms and the reports such that there is no need to write the program, there is a tool named Rapid Application Development (RAD).

Some special type of programming languages is also available such that includes vital control structures such as for loops, while loops and many others with the data manipulation language's statements. These special programming languages are termed as fourth-generation languages and they include the special features to provide the ability for the generation of the forms and to display the data on the screen.

In today's world, a large variety of commercial database systems includes these fourth generation languages.

3) Sophisticated users

Sophisticated users aren't interested in writing programs and they interact with the system without writing any programs. Contrary, they use database query languages to interact with the system.

Sophisticated Users submit their queries to a query processor. Query Processor provides the facility to break the DML statements into the instruction that can be understood by the storage manager.

Analysts are one among the sophisticated users. They use the tools to perform their task such as:

1. Online analytical processing (OLAP) - It helps the analysts to view them the summaries of the data in different ways.
2. Data Mining Tools – It helps the analysts find a certain kind of pattern in the given data.

4) Specialized users

Among Sophisticated Users, there are Specialized Users too who used to write specialized database applications that differ to the traditional framework of data processing.

These users use the interfaces that are computer-aided design systems, knowledge base and systems that store the complex data types and also environment-modeling systems.