Dump

[adam_uk]

hi

im building a web based register for a school and it was brought to my attention that in the event of a fire there may be a power cut of some kind meaning that the registeres cannot be taken

so i need a way to dump the database into a file (preferably something that will fit on a floppy disk and something that can be understood by ms office

anyone got any good ideas about how to do this?

 

[deadserious]

Hey adam are you running the mysql app on a windows machine or something else? I'm not quite sure how to go about automatically compressing the file on windows so it would fit on a floppy, but I'm sure it's possible. But if the database grows to large it probably still wouldn't fit even while it's compressed. I imagine it's possible to just export the database to a text delimited file and then import it to access some how. I don't know anything about access though. :D Oh yea, you're using mysql as the database aren't you?

If you are you can use the mysqldump utility to easily get the database backed up to a file.

You could set it up some how to automatically run the mysqldump utility once a day or however often you want and have the file saved where ever you want (maybe on the floppy?) :D

 

[adam_uk]

thanks

didnt know there where any utilites

just we will need the register in the event of a fire or a power outage so it needs to be transfered on to floppy disk (possibly cd if it gets large) and then taken and read on a laptop out side

 

[deadserious]

Yes if you're running mysql, it has built in utilities.

If you're on windows, just open a dos screen, then cd to your mysql bin directory

cd c:mysqlbin

Run the command:

mysqldump --opt -uYourSQLUsername -p YourDBName > C:pathtoyourdirectoryNameOfBackup.sql

That would place the file: NameOfBackup.sql in C:pathtoyourdirectoryNameofBackup.sql

You can save it to where ever you want, just change the paths.

You could try and save it to another drive on the machine, maybe one with a floppy or a cd???:D

Something like:

mysqldump --opt -uYourSQLUsername -p YourDBName > A:NameofBackup.sql

Then if you had a way to set that command to run once a day or how ever often you want, you could grab the floppy or cd each day with a current backup.

If you're running on a *nix machine you could set up a cron job to do it for you. I know just about nothing about windows servers, but I think you could set this up somehow with the windows scheduler.

You could also use mysqlhotcopy if you're running on a *nix machine. :D

 

[DarkDevil]

remember zip disks? you could always use one of those... if you had access to a zip drive...

 

[adam_uk]

hmmm thanks the thing is tho while would a sql backup would be good incase of fire etc etc, it would proof useless in the event of a fire,

i need to export the database (maybe last cuple of entrys) onto a floppy disk//zip//cdrom which can then be taken outside opened in word, excel, access and then used to take the register to make sure the kids arnt being cooked alive

understand me?

i know in phpmyadmin you can export a backup into a csv file is it never done it tho and i think csv files open in excel?

 

[deadserious]

LOL, No I don't understand. What exactly is this web based register and what does it do?

Are you running this program on a windows machine?

Are you using mysql as the database?

Can you open a dos window and run commands?

 

[adam_uk]

ok the register is designed to run on the schools intranet its like a yes miss, here sir kinda thing

its designed to save time for the staff so all they do is just click links and off they go

now ive built it got it working etc

now i need a to devise a system where i can get the databases exported into a ms office readable format (.doc, .xls

you understand me?

its running from an sql database and i could use msddos commands but id rather not since its not going to be used by me

 

[DarkDevil]

a register is a list of all the students and weather they are here or not. He needs to be able to bring it outside during a fire so that they can figure out which students are stuck inside under a mass of burning rubble.

 

[deadserious]

Well it really don't make sense to me that someone is going to wait until an emergency and then during the emergency (fire) try and get a backup of a database so they can run outside and install it on another computer. That's what it sounds like the plans are to me. That doesn't seem like it will be much help with keeping kids from being cooked alive to me. There should be a physical (on paper) list of the kids, so all they have to do is call out their names rather than wait for someone trying to rescue a backup off a computer while the buildings in flames, and then if they do succeed, wait for them to try and get it running somehow on another computer?

What is the first thing that usally happens in the event of a fire? The power is usually turned off in the event of a fire anyways, so how are you going to get the backup out of the computer?

I think it would be alot wiser to automate the entire process (no human intervention) by doing something like I suggested above and have the backup alerady stored elsewhere each day or as often as wanted/needed.

I think you may need to reconsider your backup plans. :D

Anyhow here's some links that may interest you:


http://www.convert-in.com/sql2accp.htm
http://www.mysql.com/doc/en/Backup.html
http://www.mysql.com/doc/en/MyODBC_clients.html
http://wincron.co.uk

 

[DarkDevil]

My understanding is that the process he has in mind is like this.

1. Kids goto their first/homeroom classes and do the whole "Here" and "Present" thing.

2. The teacher then marks on the computer whether that kid is there or not.

3. This info is then sent into the database where it is collected into a list of attendance.

4. Once all the classes have done this it is automatically saved in both database and word format.

5. The word format is then saved onto a floppy and the floppy is kept onfile for a set amount of days just for referance.

6. In the case of a fire this floppy is taken from file along with a laptop, and the contained word file is then read on the laptop outside to determine which kids are toast.

 

[deadserious]

Your may be right. I just figured since adam said "he needs to export the database (maybe last cuple of entrys)". That led me to believe he was referring to the last couple of entries.

And I figured the last couple of entries would probably be entered the same day the fire occured, therefore I really didn't see how it would be possible to keep the floppy stored somewhere for a set amount of days. :D

 

[adam_uk]

Originally posted by DarkDevil
My understanding is that the process he has in mind is like this.

1. Kids goto their first/homeroom classes and do the whole "Here" and "Present" thing.

2. The teacher then marks on the computer whether that kid is there or not.

3. This info is then sent into the database where it is collected into a list of attendance.

4. Once all the classes have done this it is automatically saved in both database and word format.

5. The word format is then saved onto a floppy and the floppy is kept onfile for a set amount of days just for referance.

6. In the case of a fire this floppy is taken from file along with a laptop, and the contained word file is then read on the laptop outside to determine which kids are toast.

thats exactly how i wanna do it!

the register will also have a print facitilty but im not sure wether it will get used or not

so im not 100%certain when they would print of the records for a paper copy you see so i think it being stored on a floppy disk or somin like that would be best

thanks for those links thru have a look for them