What is the DBMS Interfaces?
A database management system (DBMS) interface is a user interface that allows you to query a database without having to know the query language. A database management system interface can take the form of a web client, a desktop client, or even a mobile app.
The most common method is to develop a form that displays the many types of inquiries that users can submit. With the popularity of MySQL, web-based forms are becoming more frequent, but the conventional method has been to use local desktop software. It is also feasible to develop mobile apps. Rather than using the command line, these interfaces give a more user-friendly approach to obtaining data.
Types of DBMS Interfaces
On the basis of the technology utilized, this interface is further split into four groups.
- Menu-based
- Form based
- A graphical user interface (GUI) based
- Natural Language Interfaces
- Speech Input and Output
- Interfaces for DBA
1. Menu based
The user is presented with a menu of options in each of these interfaces. The technique of pull-down menus is quite crucial.
The primary benefit of employing menus is that they relieve the stress of having to remember specific commands and syntax of any query language, rather than having to do it natively by simply collecting or selecting items from the system’s menus. It is constructed in stages. Pull-down menus are a common approach used in web-based interfaces.
For Example
When we search anything in a web browser, it shows all possible results in a list manner, so that we can click on any option.
2. Form based
Each user is presented with a form in the form-based interface. Users can either fill in all form entries to insert new data or only some of them, in which case the DBMS will use the same type of data for the remaining entries. These forms are often created, developed, and coded for users with no prior knowledge of operating systems.
These forms follow a set of steps in order to keep the new data in a logical order. If a form is large and divided into small portions, each part of the form is filled by a user and stored on a single server.
For Example
SQL* Forms is a form-based language that allows you to specify queries using a form that is designed to work with a relational database schema. b>
3. Graphical user interface (GUI) based
It shows the user a schema in diagrammatic form. The majority of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) rely on a pointing device, such as a mouse.
Menus and forms are frequently used in GUIs. To choose a specific section of the displayed schema diagram, most GUIs require a pointing device such as a mouse.
For Example
The best example of this is online gaming. When the user walks in a certain direction, the relevant commands begin to work.
4. Natural Language Interfaces
These interfaces accept and attempt to interpret requests written in English or any other language. A natural language interface has its own schema, which is similar to the conceptual schema of a database, as well as a dictionary of keywords.
To send a query to the database, the user must follow a specific structure. The operation may be denied if the format is incorrect. These schemas are made up of pre-programmed commands and keywords.
For Example
- let’s say, you want to find out what is the fastest car in the world, so you search for the fastest car in India on a search engine like Google, which is a natural language interface.
- The natural language interface then look at the important words in the input by the user:
Fastest, car, India.
- Now it will go into the database of cars and search for all the cars that are available in India. Then it will check the car with highest speed among the cars available in India.
- And Finally it will show the outcome of the serach to the user.
5. Speech Input and Output
Speech is used for input and output in applications with limited vocabularies, such as phone directory inquiries, aeroplane arrival/departure, and bank account information, allowing regular people to access this information.
For Example
- Most of you must have used either Siri on Apple, or Google, or Alexa, or Cortana to ask some questions like,
- OK, Google, find the value of the square root of 729.
- “Or Alexa, what is the capital of India?”
- And these speech user interfaces interpret your speech input, process the data from the database, and, after successful interpretation, answer you back in speech.
- If the query is not understood, it will ask you to repeat the query.
6. Interfaces for DBA
Most database systems feature privileged commands that only the DBA’s team can use. These include commands for creating accounts, modifying schema, and reorganizing a database’s storage structure, as well as commands for configuring system parameters, providing account authorization, and changing schema.