Overview
eXist is an Open Source native XML database featuring efficient, index-based XQuery processing, automatic indexing, extensions for full-text search, XUpdate support, XQuery update extensions and tight integration with existing XML development tools. The database implements the current XQuery 1.0 working drafts, with exception of the schema import and schema validation features defined as optional in the XQuery specification.
eXist provides a powerful environment for the development of web applications based on XQuery and related standards. Entire web applications can be written in XQuery, using XSLT, XHTML, CSS and maybe Javascript (for AJAX functionality). XQuery server pages can be executed from the filesystem or stored in the database.
To avoid memory-intensive document tree traversals during query processing, eXist uses an efficient index structure which is based on a numerical indexing scheme for identifying XML nodes in the index.
Download
eXist is released to the public under the terms of the GNU LGPL license.
Note
Even release numbers indicate 'production' releases whose code has been tested for a longer time but are frozen except for important bug fixes. Odd releases are created from the active branch of development and contain all features and bug fixes.
Versions and were published simultaneously. This situation was special in the sense that there has been a real technology switch between the two releases. The 1.1 code replaces the old indexing scheme at the core of the database by a new one. The new indexing scheme fixes some limitations eXist previously had. In particular, it
- drops the previous document size/complexity limit
- removes the need to reindex a document after every node update
So if you ever had trouble with large documents or slow XUpdates, you should definitely have a look at the 1.1 version. For a discussion of the two schemes, have a look at our XML Prague article (slides).
| 1.0 | |
|---|---|
| Based on the old indexing core. Incorporates all the latest code in all other areas. The old indexing scheme will become obsolete though. Use this version if you already have a working application running in production and want to be on the safe side. | |
| eXist-1.0.jar | Installer based on IzPack. Includes source. Run with java -jar eXist-1.0.jar |
| exist-1.0.war | Web application archive, ready to be installed into an existing servlet-engine like Tomcat or Jetty. |
| 1.1-newcore | |
| Based on the new indexing core. Represents a major technological switch with respect to the index system. All other areas (including most of the query engine) are identical to the 1.0 release. If you know eXist and had problems with too large/too complex documents or slow updates, try this version. If you are a new user and willing to help us testing, you may also want to download the 1.1 release as it has less limitations. | |
| eXist-1.1-newcore.jar | Installer based on IzPack. Includes source. Run with java -jar eXist-1.1-newcore.jar |
| exist-1.1-newcore.war | Web application archive, ready to be installed into an existing servlet-engine like Tomcat or Jetty. |
For other software packages to be used with eXist, check the links on the Wiki.
Community Support
The primary medium for asking questions, getting help or posting bug reports or fixes is the project mailing list. To subscribe/unsubscribe visit the mailing lists page on sourceforge.
http://sourceforge.net/mail/?group_id=17691
The list archive can be found on the same page. However, most people find Gmane more convenient:
http://news.gmane.org/thread.php?group=gmane.text.xml.exist
The project also has an IRC channel #existdb at irc.freenode.net. The channel is open for general discussions on eXist and related subjects.