Suggestion - Easy Backup and Restore

[tdaubs]

I find this project very interesting. I hope it's development is ongoing.

I'm not a heavyweight database expert but I do from time to time need to work with a db (mostly with Opencart) directly. However, I'm never comfortable making any changes directly to a db until I have a backup of the db just prior to changes. It would be great if this project would add a straightforward backup and restore interface that could be automatically displayed BEFORE the user was taken to manage any type of data... or at least a setting that could enable this functionality.

[nekto-kotik]

Thank you for your comments and request, they are very appreciated!
I assure you that the development is ongoing and that I have no intention of giving this project up ever. I'm not rushing the next update only because the current public version works very well for me. (Plus I have zero feedback, so either people are happy with it as is, or they don't like or understand it at all and don't use it after downloading - I have no idea:-D)

The export/import (backup/restore) is one click away in the first initial panel:
Of course, "one click away" is absolutely not what you propose.

Your idea is niche, but easy to implement as a setting. And don't get me wrong, I don't mind niche ideas.
The way I imagine it - just make export/import immediately displayed in the first panel.
We shouldn't hide the list of tables IMHO, because one of the export options is "Only chosen tables" and it would be strange without the tables. On the other hand, that choice can also be hidden.

However, I want to warn you that although I've never had any problems with export so far, but import is not completely reliable.
If it works - it works (for a combination of server settings and a database), but if it doesn't - I don't even know how to fix it. If "Server has gone away" error occurs, I have no solution.
It works in 95% cases for me on my servers where I have full control and can set a crucial max_allowed_packet variable to a higher value (it's a global MariaDB/MySQL setting, changing which requires root access and database service restart - you should keep the value high for the import/restore in SQLantern to work), but on the 3rd-party servers the value is usually the default 16M and one can hardly import anything.

An even with large max_allowed_packet, import sometimes fails when millions of rows are imported. I wasn't able to debug it yet, and it's very low among my priorities.

I need a quick and easy way to save and restore a database myself and I'm not aware of any existing programs for that (quick and easy are the key points), so I have an idea of a separate project in mind for exactly that - internally called "database snapshots". No downloading and uploading files, which is very different from what existing database managers provide.
It's not even really started yet, unfortunately.
(And if it gets made - it will be integrated with this project.)

This is probably a much more detailed response than you had expected, but I wanted to be as clear as I can.

[nekto-kotik]

Hi, @tdaubs
Your suugestion has been kind of implemented in the new version (released yesterday/today) and to own my surprise I actually find it very useful :-)
The new setting is "Start with open Export/Import".

I know it's not exactly what you had in mind, but I hope this half-implementation can be helpful for you if you're still using the program...

I apologize for taking so long - the code had already been in the middle of multiple big changes when your suggestion came in, and I decided to release this small change together with other big changes, but they dragged for months.

[tdaubs]

Excellent work! Yes, the export functionality is very handy!

…

On Wed, Jan 8, 2025 at 10:05 AM nekto ***@***.***> wrote: Hi, @tdaubs <https://github.com/tdaubs> Your suugestion has been kind of implemented in the new version (released yesterday/today) and to own my surprise I actually find it very useful :-) The new setting is "Start with open Export/Import". image.png (view on web) <https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ca2f27dd-07ab-4a66-8a75-441ffa3ec014> I know it's not exactly what you had in mind, but I hope this half-implementation can be helpful for you if you're still using the program... I apologize for taking so long - the code had already been in the middle of multiple big changes when your suggestion came in, and I decided to release this small change together with other big changes, but they dragged for months. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#2 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AABA4V3YV7K7CAURI6I33C32JVSGBAVCNFSM6AAAAABMGTV7LCVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDKNZYGMYDMMBZHE> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>