{{No footnotes, date=December 2021 A back-end database is a

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

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 Structured Query Language (SQL) (pronounced ''S-Q-L''; or alternatively as "sequel") is a domain-specific language used to manage data, especially in a relational database management system (RDBMS). It is particularly useful in handling s ...

commands). A back-end database stores data but does not include

end-user In product development, an end user (sometimes end-user) is a person who ultimately uses or is intended to ultimately use a product. The end user stands in contrast to users who support or maintain the product, such as sysops, system administrato ...

application elements such as stored queries, forms, macros or reports. The back-end database concept was invented by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

in 1989.

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.

References

The Two-Database Approach

Types of databases