Where does Gnucash save it backup files when using mysql data source

[L. D. James]

When I first started using Peachtree, as far as I know, it was a bunch 
of local files very similar to the way Gnucash started out. Eventually 
they incorporated a database engine.  It's a very powerful engine.  I 
can research and give you the name of it.  The Linux version of the 
engine is extremely expensive.

They didn't place a requisite that their users go to school and learn 
the new engine.  The people just used the facilities of Peachtree as 
they always did.  Peachtree continued to routinely backup the data to 
the local drive as always for the user.

I believe Gnucash should do the same.

Many people are using Wordpress.  They have no clue what a mysql 
database engine is.  The developers of wordpress decided to take a very 
powerful facility (mysql) and incorporate it into their program.  The 
have very simple install procedures, and the program just works.  It 
works very efficiently because of the time and attention that the 
developers put into making the application easy to use.

I don't suggest that Gnucash tries to backup the mysql database itself, 
but I wouldn't fight against it.  I'm suggesting that Gnucash performs 
the export which John mentioned as a feature to be considered, as a 
default option when exiting the program.  I don't understand why you are 
animate against this protection for the users' data.

John mentioned, and I'm glad it's being considered, that the 
incorporation of mysql is a preclude to what may progress into a 
multiuser system of Gnucash.  When reviewing the list, when multi-user 
comes up many people start to say, this is a small program, get an 
expensive program for multi-users.  I'm glad that in spite of the nay's 
against Gnucash having multi-user capability, it's actually being 
considered.

Of course many people will have an IT person, even for their word 
processor files.  But I hope Gnucash doesn't become a program where 
every time a person has a problem, we suggest that it isn't for them, 
they need to go to their IT.

A person doesn't have to know anything about the engine an application 
is using, to actually use it.  I was surprised and just noticed the 
mysql option built into the latest version of Gnucash. It's not in the 
repository version that is installed on my clients machines.  I'll be 
upgrading theirs to the new Gnucash.  I never opted for the mysql 
version during the years of my testing and considering Gnucash because 
of threads like this, that suggested that it was something extremely 
time consuming and almost impossible for a novice to use.  While I am 
very flush in SQL development and usage, I wasn't anxious to get into a 
time consuming operation.  But yesterday when I saw it as an option I 
clicked on it.  I was very surprised at the ease in using it.  It asked 
for very simple things, the name of the database and the username and 
password.  It was much easier than setting up Wordpress which many 
novice users can do without know anything about mysql, SQL, database 
engines, or a lot of basic computer operations.  They just run the setup 
routine and follow the prompts and leave the technical stuff to the 
program developers.

I believe using mysql is something that will actually make developing 
and supporting Gnucash easier for the developers and people giving 
support.  I don't think the users actually have need to know anything 
about mysql or concerned about it.  Just run the setup... put in their 
username and password for the installed mysql and be on their way.  I 
always install mysql on my clients computers, even though they don't 
know what it is.  When they install an application that uses it, it 
simply asks them for credentials and everything is automatically setup 
by the program.

Currently Gnucash doesn't actually setup create the database.  But it 
would be an extremely simple routine which I would gladly provide if the 
gnucah developers wanted wanted to consider.  Creating an mysql database 
is as easy as using a personal username and password to log into the OS 
(Windows or their Mac computer).

So again, I really don't understand why you are so animate against this 
extremely powerful, yet very easy to use and implement feature.  While I 
can explore and use XML and Sqlite, I find mysql the easiest of all.

The backup feature already exist in Gnucash.  It's called "save as".  
All it really takes is a rename from "save as" to "backup" or "export", 
provide this as an exiting option and it's all done.  I can't imagine 
anything simpler... and I really don't see where the need of an advance 
IT professional should have to come into the picture.

-- L. James

-- 
L. D. James
ljames at apollo3.com
www.apollo3.com/~ljames

On 07/05/2015 05:16 AM, Colin Law wrote:
> On 5 July 2015 at 10:02, L. D. James <ljames at apollo3.com> wrote:
>> On 07/05/2015 04:34 AM, Colin Law wrote:
>>> On 5 July 2015 at 09:18, L. D. James <ljames at apollo3.com> wrote:
>>>> ...
>>>> I've only worked with a
>>>> few accounting problems, I believe all of the ones I've seen perform a
>>>> backup when exiting.  It appears the developers have a lot of concern for
>>>> the novice computer users who neglect to backup and are later crying
>>>> trying
>>>> to find a way to recover their precious data once the active version
>>>> becomes
>>>> corrupted... just like a number of users in previous different threads
>>>> have
>>>> been afraid to upgrade for fear of losing their data. I've told them in
>>>> each
>>>> case to just backup their data, or use one of the default backed up
>>>> versions.
>>> I don't think a novice computer user will be using mysql or
>>> postgreSQL.  A system administrator setting those up must understand
>>> how to maintain and back up the databases.  I don't think gnucash
>>> should get involved in that.
>>>
>>> For sqlite I believe the database is simply a single file, so I
>>> imagine in that case gnucash could use a similar backup strategy to
>>> the one it uses for xml files.
>>>
>>> Colin
>>
>> I am an IT professions.  All the people I work with are novice computer
>> users.  I don't know many doctors, lawyers, or other business professional
>> and even accountants that are not novice computer users.  The normal
>> computer users depend on the facilities and features built into the software
>> they use.
>>
>> Many of the people using this mailing list are not actually novice computer
>> users.  However, even these people who are not novice computer users are
>> having lots of problems asking for support for doing very easy things.
>> Having the features I'm describing, of which you're saying an IT person
>> should get involved in are things that will make it easier for us helping in
>> this list to give support to the users.
>> ...
>> I don't know who your clients are.  But none of my clients truly understand
>> what a database engine or xml file is.  They barely understand what a zip
>> archive is.  The ones who has a clue for some of this couldn't put it into
>> words.
> You are missing my point, I think.  No novice computer user is going
> to setup mySQL.  Where a novice computer user is using mySQL there
> will be a sys admin who setup the database for him/her.  I do not
> believe mySQL will ever be the default, possibly it may be sqlite.
> Gnucash cannot (I believe) be responsible for backup of a mySQL
> database, only the system administrator can be responsible for that.
> Can you suggest any other app that uses mySQL that handles database
> backups within the app?
>
> In the case of sqlite it may well be that your points are entirely
> valid, as I suggested in my previous post.
>
> Colin