saving a gnucash data file

[Colin Law]

2009/8/14 Mike or Penny Novack <stepbystepfarm at mtdata.com>:
>
>> I think there is an argument for a backup database feature.  There is
>> a distinction between word processor documents and a database on a
>> server.  A user of a word processor should know where the document is
>> saved to as he, at some point, saved it there.  A user may not have as
>> much knowledge about, for example, his mysql server.  The machine may
>> be multi user with his gnucash database just one of many dbs managed
>> by the server.  The sysadmin should be managing backups of the whole
>> system but an individual user might like a backup of just his data as
>> an extra safeguard.  It will be little consolation for him/her to
>> complain after a loss that the sysadmin (spouse?) should have been
>> backing it up more often.
>>
>>
>
> It's a background experience thing?
>
> Probably the reason why I failed to see a distinction is that in the case of
> my databases being "on some other machine" I would have considered it
> equally possible that things such as word processor documents might be
> elsewhere also. For example, back in my working days the PC on my desk (or
> the one at home running a terminal emulator to a virtual session) appeared
> to have several disk drives to which data like documents might be saved. But
> only one of these actually in the box, the others being on the corporate
> servers. Now in THAT case these "other locations" would be the safer
> location (all corporate devices backed up nightly -- not talking just about
> little machines like network servers but every disk drive of the big
> mainframes. multiple copies of backups, some sent off site in case of
> disaster).

A nightly (or whatever) backup is not the only reason for taking a
backup.  If one is about to do something and one is not sure of the
outcome (import some QIF data for example) one may want to take a
backup at that point in case the import goes wrong.  To satisfy this
one needs an 'on demand' backup.  How does one do this when using
mysql?

>
> In other words, were I to be storing any of my data on "somebody else's
> machines" what were their backup procedures and what was in place for
> "disaster recovery" would be foremost in my mind.
>
> Michael
>
> PS -- Certainly when working from home I'd be "storing data elsewhere".
> Difficult enough to be sending screen images back and forth over a slow
> phone line. Large files would be out of the question.
>

It is not only an issue of the data being stored on another machine.
On my Ubuntu PC the mysql databases are stored in /var/lib/mysql,
which is not something that a 'user' (spouse) as opposed to sysadmin
(myself) knows.  In addition the gnucash db is not just a file there.
One cannot back it up merely by copying a file.

Colin