Database Management System is meant to store and manage data in database for a variety of users. There are many DBMS users who use with different aspects of a DBMS.
Types of DBMS Users
Database Administrator (DBA)
DBA is the most responsible person employed by an organization to take care of all administrative activities required to manage a database.
- A DBA decides what data will be stored in a Database. This can be done by a DBA only if he has detailed understanding of needs of the organizations he works for. DBA manages information content and its structure in the database.
- Any database needs of different users must be conveyed to the DBA. He communicates with the users and liaisons with them to understand their data needs. This communication is essential to define the access control for specific users to protect database from any damage.
- Data Integrity and Security of database must be properly planned and implemented to keep the data in consistent form. For this a DBA designs and implements security and integrity rules like primary keys, referential keys, validation rules and access control.
- Databases are prone to unforeseen hardware or software failures. Maliciously planned attacks on a database can affect routine activities within an organization. To tackle such problems a database must be regularly backed up by following a well-defined backup strategy. Backup and recovery planning is another responsibility assigned to a DBA to ensure minimum down time in case of an attack, failure or disaster.
- Since a database is shared by people and applications, its performance may degrade if fine-tuning procedures are not followed. A DBA has the responsibility of monitoring the performance of a database. It is done on different parameters like concurrent users, storage memory, network connections, CPU and hardware compatibility.
Application Programmers
Application development is done by specialized professionals. These DBMS users code the application and its interface after system and requirements study of the client or organization. The application programs are written in a programming language or by using a development tool. The application programmers use the database commands provided within the programming language or development tool.
Database Designers
Database designers are a part of a DBA team of an organization. They are responsible for understanding the database needs of the end users. On the basis of this knowledge they design various tables, their relationships, constraints and procedures to access the data in database.
End Users
End users are final users. These are the people for whom the DBA, Application Developers and Database Designers are working together. They create easily accessible, secure and consistent database for end users. End users can be the people who have little knowledge of computer systems and can access data through a interactive and user-friendly application.
They can also be expert professionals who access data by querying the database directly though query interface of a DBMS. Another category of end users can be those who need to use data stored in a database into high-end applications Knowledge base, Decision Systems, Intelligent Systems, Data Analytics or storage and management of Big Data.