For instance the server currently only works with well formed XML data. This means it does not do any kind of validation against the content inserted into the database and does not have any schema that constrains what can be placed into a document collection. This makes dbXML a semi-structured database and provides tremendous flexiblity in how you store your data but also means you give up some common database functionality such as data types. This document attempts to describe those features that are working and can be used today. Both the dbXML server and this document are works in progress.
Any comments are welcome and encouraged.
In many ways the dbXML database is similar to a typical hierarchical file system like those found in the Windows or UNIX operating systems. The data store consists of a hierarchical tree of collections containing XML files. This is similar to a file system that uses directories or folders to store files. The major difference being that dbXML only stores files in XML format and the files are indexed and compressed before being stored. In dbXML the data store is rooted in a database instance that is it self a document collection.