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ALTER USER

Valid in: SQL, ESQL, OpenAPI, ODBC, JDBC, .NET

The ALTER USER statement changes the characteristics of an existing user.

Note

You cannot use either ADD PRIVILEGES or DROP PRIVILEGES if a with_item is specified in the WITH clause.

This statement has the following format:

ALTER USER user_name [ADD PRIVILEGES (priv {, priv}) | DROP PRIVILEGES (priv {, priv})][WITH with_item {, with_item}]with_item = NOPRIVILEGES | PRIVILEGES = ( priv {, priv} )                | NOGROUP | GROUP = default_group                | NOEXPIRE_DATE | EXPIRE_DATE = 'expire_date'                | DEFAULT_PRIVILEGES = (priv {,priv})| ALL                | NODEFAULT_PRIVILEGES                | NOPROFILE | PROFILE= profile_name                | NOPASSWORD | PASSWORD = 'user_password'               | PASSWORD = X'encrypted_role_password'                | EXTERNAL_PASSWORD               | OLDPASSWORD = 'oldpassword'               | DBMS_AUTHENTICATION = 'REQUIRED' | 'OPTIONAL'               | LONG_NAME='long_name_string'
user_name

Specifies the user name. The user must be an existing Actian Data Platform user. If the user name contains non-alphanumeric characters, it must be enclosed in quotation marks (")—see example 10 in ALTER USER Examples.

priv

Specifies a subject privilege, as described in CREATE USER.

default group

Specifies the default group to which the user belongs. Must be an existing group. To specify that the user is not assigned to a group, use the NOGROUP option.

Default: NOGROUP if the group clause is omitted.

expire_date

Specifies an optional expiration date associated with the user. Any valid date can be used. Once the expiration date is reached, the user is no longer able to log on.

Default: NOEXPIRE_DATE if the EXPIRE_DATE clause is omitted

DEFAULT_PRIVILEGES =

Defines the privileges initially active when connecting to Actian Data Platform. These must be a subset of those privileges granted to the user.

When specified with ADD PRIVILEGE, the default privileges are added to the existing default privileges for the user; otherwise, the specified default privileges will replace the existing default privileges for the user.

NODEFAULT_PRIVILEGES

Specifies that the session is started with no privileges active. Allows default privileges to be removed.

profile_name

Allows a profile to be specified for a particular user.

Default: NOPROFILE if the profile clause is omitted.

user_password

Allows users to change their own password. If the OLDPASSWORD clause is missing or invalid, the password is unchanged. In addition, users with the maintain_users privilege can change or remove any password.

EXTERNAL_PASSWORD =

Allows a user’s password to be authenticated externally to Actian Data Platform. The password is passed to an external authentication server for authentication.

oldpassword

Specifies the user’s old password.

DBMS_AUTHENTICATION =

Indicates whether DBMS authentication is required or optional.

'REQUIRED'

Allows only connection requests that specify the user name and password defined at the Actian Data Platform level and to a dbms_authentication enabled warehouse to succeed; other connections fail. Users with the “security” privilege, including the installation owner, cannot be defined as DBMS_AUTHENTICATION='REQUIRED'.

'OPTIONAL'

Allows connection requests that specify a user name and password defined at the operating system level, an installation password, or a Kerberos principle to succeed. In particular, this allows a local connection to a dbms_authentication server to succeed through implicit OS login authentication, without requiring the DBMS password.

Default: 'OPTIONAL'

LONG_NAME='long_name_string'

Specifies a unique long name of up to 160 characters that defaults to user_name. This is useful, for example, for user names from single sign-on applications such as Salesforce, which consist of a name, or a name and an email address. LONG_NAME must not match a different user’s user_name.

The connection will be verified (and authenticated, if DBMS authentication is turned on), matching either the user_name or long_name_string. After connection is initiated and the incoming name is validated, the short user_name will be used to identify object ownership, identify the session, locate grants and privileges, and perform all operations that user_name can do.

The session may query the long_name_string through DBMSINFO, regardless of whether the connection was established with long_name_string or user_name.

ALTER USER Examples

The following examples change the characteristics of an existing user:

  1. Change an existing user, specifying privileges and group.
ALTER USER bspring WITH    GROUP = engineering,   NOPRIVILEGES;
  1. Change an existing user, specifying group.
ALTER USER barney WITH    GROUP = marketing;
  1. Specify no expiration date for a predefined user.
ALTER USER bspring WITH NOEXPIRE_DATE
  1. Allow a user with maintain_users privilege to change or remove any password.
ALTER USER username   WITH PASSWORD='theirpassword'
  1. Specify a profile for a particular user.
ALTER USER bspring WITH PROFILE = dbop

where “dbop” is an existing profile.
  1. Specify that a user has an externally verified password.
ALTER USER bspring WITH EXTERNAL_PASSWORD
  1. Specify that user roy has the privilege to change his password.
ALTER USER roy WITH PRIVILEGES = (CHANGE_PASSWORD)
  1. Roy changes his own password.
ALTER USER roy WITH    OLDPASSWORD='myoldpassword',   PASSWORD='mypassword';
  1. Juanita changes her own password.
ALTER USER "juanita.ramirez" WITH    OLDPASSWORD='myoldpassword',   PASSWORD='mypassword';