Back-end database

Back-end database

A back-end database is a database that is accessed by users indirectly through an external application rather than by application programming stored within the database itself or by low level manipulation of the data (e.g. through SQL commands).

A back-end database stores data but does not include end-user application elements such as stored queries, forms, macros or reports.

Small Database Systems

The term back-end database is most widely used among developers using small database programming systems which can contain the end-user application programming within the database as a single item. The most common of these is Microsoft Access.

The developer must decide whether to include the application programming with the data in a single database, or whether to separate them into two database files, according to the client-server model.

For simple database applications, it is common for all programming to be stored with the data. This results in a single file and is easier to develop at the expense of scalability and concurrency.

For more advanced database applications it is common to split the data and the programming parts in to a "front-end database" and a back-end database where the front-end holds all the application programming. This has advantages in terms of scalability, performance and concurrency but requires greater effort on the part of the developer. In the long term it may be easier to maintain and upgrade as new versions of the front-end can be deployed independently of the back-end database. The front and back-end databases do not always have to be of the same types. For example, it is possible to use a Microsoft Access front-end with a Microsoft SQL Server back-end.

It is common for developers to find that an existing database application has grown in complexity or usage to the point where it would have been better to have used separate front and back-end databases. Microsoft Access provides a "Database Splitter Wizard" to ease the process of splitting Access databases.

Enterprise Database Systems

The term back-end database is not widely used among developers using larger or enterprise database systems. This is because enterprise database systems enforce the use of the client-server model and do not have the option to include the application programming within their databases. All such databases are used as back-end databases and so the term is redundant.

See also

*Microsoft Access
*OpenOffice.org Base
*Front-end and back-end

References

* [http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa141493(office.10).aspx The Two-Database Approach]
* [http://www.databasedev.co.uk/split_a_database.html Splitting a Microsoft Access Database]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Back-end база данных — back end database  база данных, к которой пользователи обращаются не напрямую, а через специально разработанное приложение в противоположность тому подходу, когда приложение использует встроенную базу данных или… …   Википедия

  • back-end — UK /ˌbækˈend/ adjective [before noun] ► relating to the final parts of a process or project, or to money that you pay when you sell a financial product: » Back end logistics refers to product delivery and payment collection. »Back end charges… …   Financial and business terms

  • back end — UK US noun [C] ► the part of a business that does not meet or deal directly with customers, such as manufacturing: »We need to change the back end of the business in order to improve our manufacturing and distribution systems. »The problems with… …   Financial and business terms

  • Front-end and back-end — are generalized terms that refer to the initial and the end stages of a process. The front end is responsible for collecting input in various forms from the user and processing it to conform to a specification the back end can use. The connection …   Wikipedia

  • back end — computer program that performs background tasks (support program for a computer system, such as a database) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Database-centric architecture — or data centric architecture has several distinct meanings, generally relating to software architectures in which databases play a crucial role. Often this description is meant to contrast the design to an alternative approach. For example, the… …   Wikipedia

  • database server —    Any database application that follows the client/server architecture model, which divides the application into two parts: a front end running on the user s workstation and a back end running on a server or host computer. The front end… …   Dictionary of networking

  • Database server — A database server is a computer program that provides database services to other computer programs or computers, as defined by the client–server model. The term may also refer to a computer dedicated to running such a program. Database management …   Wikipedia

  • Database machine — A database machine or back end processor is a computer or special hardware that stores and retrieves data from a database. It is specially designed for database access and is coupled to the main (front end) computer(s) by a high speed channel.… …   Wikipedia

  • Database activity monitoring — (DAM) is a database security technology for monitoring and analyzing database activity that operates independently of the database management system (DBMS) and does not rely on any form of native (DBMS resident) auditing or native logs such as… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”