Command-Line Client

This page is part of the Getting Started Section. It introduces you to the standalone command-line mode of BaseX.

Startup

The command-line client can be started as follows:

• Run one of the basex or basex.bat scripts.
• If you have installed BaseX on Windows, click on the BaseX Standalone icon.

All operations will be performed with admin permissions (no password needs to be supplied). Various command-line options are available to simplify batch processing. The start script can be adjusted for individual purposes (e.g. if the default memory limit is too restrictive).

The standalone client must not be used if you perform parallel (concurrent) read and write operations on your databases. See Concurrent Operations for more details.

Operations

Create a Database

To create a database, you need an XML document, e.g., factbook.xml. Save this document to your working directory and type in the following command to create and open the database: > CREATE DB factbook factbook.xml

factbook is the name of the database

factbook.xml is the initial input of the database

By default, databases are stored in the basex/data directory of your project’s home directory. Depending on your Configuration, the location may vary.

Execute a Query

The XQUERY command lets you run a query. The following query returns all country elements of the currently opened database:

> XQUERY //country

You can also run queries in files:

> RUN /path/to/query.xq

Database Commands

The following command lists all databases that can be opened by the currently logged-in user:

> LIST

To open an existing database, execute the following:

> OPEN factbook

To get information on the currently opened database, type:

> INFO

You can also address a database within your query with the db:get function:

> XQUERY db:get("factbook")//country

To close the current database, please type:

> CLOSE

A database can eventually be dropped again:

> DROP DB factbook

Multiple Resources

One database can contain not only a single, but millions of documents. All documents can have a different structure.

With the following commands, you can create an empty database and add two documents. It is also possible to address resources via URLs:

> CREATE DB store
> ADD factbook.xml
> ADD http://files.basex.org/xml/xmark.xml

Deleting a document from a database is easy, but make sure that the database, which contains the addressed document, is currently opened:

> DELETE factbook.xml

Backup and Restore

To back up and restore your database, type:

> CREATE BACKUP factbook
> RESTORE factbook

The backup file is stored in the database directory. It contains the name of the database and a timestamp: [db-name]-[timestamp].zip. If a database is to be restored, and if several backups exist, the backup with the newest timestamp is taken.