User Database with specific permissions

[mike_kallet]

Here's what I'm trying to figure out;
I have a customer database of thousands. They are grouped in "categories". I'd like to be able to have them login and the only have access to certain pages based on these categories. My questions are as follows:
- Can I use the php DB method to store (I would pre populate) the categories, or must I use the a SQL db?
- Regardless of which method, can I restrict certain pages based on permissions per customer, i.e. per category they are classified in?
thx

[Pablo]

There is currently no standard solution for this, this will require custom coding.
User 'roles' are planned for the next version (somewhere next year)

[mike_kallet]

I'll wait Thanks for the reply.