ZBasic Forum

Would be an easy thing to add an automated date-stamped backup feature of development files? This way ongoing development could be captured just in case a version of the code from somewhere in the middle of the timeline needed to be revisited. Or maybe due to corrupted files development platform or something.

-Christopher Erickson

cerickson wrote:Would be an easy thing to add an automated date-stamped backup feature of development files?

Although this could be done, there are better ways to achieve your objective, I think. Perhaps the simplest way to capture the development timeline is to create regular backups. This could be as simple as zipping up the development directory and storing the file on a remote server or archiving it on CD-ROM, etc.

A better solution, however, is to use a software package called a version control system. Among the advantages of such a system is that it allows the development team to annotate the change history by describing the changes made each time modified files are "checked in". This is useful even for single-person development projects.

I currently use the subversion (free) version control system for each of my development projects. Within a few minutes I can go back and build any past version and find out the actual code changes between version X and version Y as well as read the change comments.

There are several other version control system options, both commercial and free. One of the newer ones is git that was initally created by Linus Torvalds (the creator of Linux). I've not used it but I have heard good things about it from some that have.

I use low cost "SecondCopy"
http://www.secondcopy.com/

Love it.

It makes backups and optionally keeps the last n prior versions. It does so silently and automatically for any number of folders. Not a source code control system for a development team, but good enough for my software and my financial records.

For drive failures, I used to use Acronis True Image to image the C: to a file on a different drive or computer. But now, I prefer to use Acronis True Image to CLONE the entire drive from one to another drive. Since drives are cheap. Doesn't have to be identical: I even clone my SATA to an EIDE. Then the clone is bootable as was the original. Takes just 20 minutes to clone my drive, as it knows how to skip all the blank sectors.

I think that the use of a version control sysem like Subversion is a good idea. I do not do it routinely and I have regetted it on occasion. I have found that one simple alternative is to Zip up ALL the project files after any significant work (i.e. would not want to go back and do it over). I then just keep all the Zipped files as backups.

A year ago, I was working on a big project with a guy 1/2 way around the world. I did most, but not all, the programming and it was a pain in the neck keeping his and my versions synchronized. Since the project did not proceed too fast, and since I did most of the work, it was not a huge problem for me to zip up all the files and send him an update fairly frequently. I think that a version control would have worked well for us, though.

As for Stevech's suggestion of cloning the disk, this seems like a very good idea. I have had 2 hits from lightning at my office in the last 6 weeks, one of which damaged, but fortunately did not destroy, the "server". It would be a huge PITA to have to restore all the software if a HDD crashed. I had to replace the damaged computer and it took me about 20 hours to get it all sorted out. Most of the trouble was with the new computer, not software....

Anyway I have been thinking about using a mirrored RAID system so there are 2 identical disks on the system. (Is that called RAID 1?) RAID is supported in the BIOS of all of my newer (i.e. not antique) computers, so I think it might be easy enough to institute the RAID system.

So, using a RAID system might be an option for some people. I think that one limitation is that the size of the disks needs to be identical, where the Acronis cloning might not be picky about the size/type of the second drive as long as it is big enough to hold all the data.

-Tony

I have a RAID1 (mirror) AND I clone the disk every 2 weeks or so AND I have SecondCopy running all the time.

The trouble with RAID1 is that if the file system and/or Windows gets gubbered up, you cannot recover. This happened to me recently: My Outlook mail client was berzerk. I spent hours trying to get it to work again - in the mire of Microsoft bloatware. I gave up andused the backup disk clone to fix Outlook and the honked up Windoze Registry. Then I rolled in a very recent Acronis partition image, and finally, a few work-in-progress files that SecondCopy dupe'd to a USB drive.

The clone copies all partitiions (say, if you dual-boot) and the MBR.

This only took an hour or so. Faster than days I've spent when I reformat, install windows/updates and all that rot.

stevech wrote:I have a RAID1 (mirror) AND I clone the disk every 2 weeks or so AND I have SecondCopy running all the time.

Wow, that only took an hour? Fantastic. I think I need to follow your lead on data backup. I have heard some good stuff about Acronis, and I had not heard of SecondCopy.

I will check out SecondCopy right now! I have a USB drive that would make it easy to keep a "second copy". Acually, that is precisely what I got it for. RIght now I do manual backups, but I'd rather keep stuff synched automatically.

-Tony

I have Second Copy setup to watch a dozen folders including the Desktop folder where I tend to put all work in progress - as other folders. Everytime a file changes (checks done at time intervals I choose) SecondCopy copies it to either my USB drive or a network drive in the garage. For some folders, I have SecondCopy keep the last n versions.

The key though, for me, is to use disk clone and have a spare drive that I never use. It's the fast way to recover from being a victim of the next Microsoft mystery screwup. These seem to happen when I do something like install then uninstall Microsoft's ActiveSync. Windows XP "restore points" sometimes but not always fix things. The problem with MS Windows is that it suffers from too many cooks in the kitchen (software developers) and the absurd Registry - which is an obtuse method to reduce pirated applications.

I use W98SE, W2K Pro, XP Home, XP Pro, Vista, Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu (and soon, OS-X). Most are only used for testing with development being done under XP Pro, Debian (and soon OS-X). Has anybody seen similar back-up apps for these?

Currently, I do manual backups to floppy and to a network drive but it would be great to find apps that would do this automagically in the background.