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

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases ...

that is accessed by users indirectly through an external

application Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...

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 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 technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

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