Xesta is a java to xml binding tool. Xesta balances the approach between object and document side of the binding, trying to rely on tooling and practices aligned with each of the sides.

Document information is usually more complex, updated more frequently, including both data and structure and may be more focused on small details. Documents, Xml documents, are a great way of to handle detail and persistent, isolated (not directly backed by any system) data. They are also the backbone of the pulishing and digital humanities industry, including legal texts, books, product instructions, etc.

Xml Documents are usually explored with XPath indications. While Java comes by default with XPath 1.x the Xml community rely on newer versions. Xesta annotations are defined with XPath 3.x instead of positional indications. Future XPath versions may be adopted.

On the other side, Java and object oriented tools are tend to work with more structured data, less complex but with more volume. This part require more consistency and a more structured/less flexible approach. Java tooling frecuently rely on Xml schemas when dealing with Xml documents. It is also common for Java tools to look for similar structures on both sides and rely on Xml for plain object serialization.

Xesta was presented as Fento on XML Prague 2026 and afterwards renamed as Xesta.