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<chapter id="introduction">
<title>Introduction</title>

<!-- The introduction chapter contains a brief introduction for the
application that explains what it does and where to report
problems. Basically a long version of the abstract.  Don't include a
revision history. (see installation appendix comment) -->

<para>
  &kexi; is a database management application.  It can be used for
  creating databases, inserting data, performing queries, and processing
  data. Forms can be created to provide a custom interface to your
  data. All database objects - tables, queries and forms - are stored in
  the database, making it easy to share data and design.
</para>

<para>
  &kexi; is part of the &koffice; productivity suite for the K Desktop
  Environment.
</para>

<para>
  In addition to storing your &kexi; databases in files, &kexi; can also
  store your data on a <firstterm>database server</firstterm>.  Using
  a database server allows you to share your database with other
  people, and also allows more than one person to use the database at
  one time. The following database servers are supported by &kexi;:
  <itemizedlist>
    <listitem>
      <para>
	MySQL (See <ulink url="http://www.mysql.com/"
			  >http://www.mysql.com/</ulink>)
      </para>
    </listitem>
    <listitem>
      <para>
	PostgreSQL (See <ulink url="http://www.postgresql.org/"
			       >http://www.postgresql.org/</ulink>)
      </para>
    </listitem>
  </itemizedlist>
</para>

<para>
  More information about &kexi; can be found at the &kexi; page on the
  &koffice; website
  at <ulink
	url="http://www.koffice.org/kexi/">http://www.koffice.org/kexi/</ulink>,
  and on the website for &kexi; itself
  at <ulink url="http://www.kexi-project.org/about.html"
	    >http://www.kexi-project.org/about.html</ulink>.
</para>

<para>
  If you have any questions about &kexi;, there are two mailing lists
  you can use.  The <ulink url="mailto:kexi@kde.org">Kexi user mailing
    list</ulink> can be used to ask questions about using &kexi; or about
  the &kexi; project.  The <ulink url="mailto:kexi-devel@kde.org">Kexi
    development mailing list</ulink> can be used to ask questions about
  the development of &kexi;.  Further information on how to subscribe
  to these lists, together with a few other ways of making contact with
  &kexi; developers, can be found at:
  <itemizedlist>
    <listitem>
      <para>
        <ulink
           url="http://www.kexi-project.org/support.html"
           >http://www.kexi-project.org/support.html</ulink>
      </para>
    </listitem>
  </itemizedlist>
</para>
</chapter>

