Helen

Got it. Now I understand. Thanks

--- In ib-support@y..., Helen Borrie <helebor@t...> wrote:
> At 07:04 AM 10-05-02 +0000, stevelw wrote:
>
> > > No reason to do the garabge collection if you're going to turn
> > > around and immediately restore the backup.
>
>
> >That's exactly what I'm going to do. Given the large number of
> >deletions I thought some tidying-up would be necessary for optimum
> >performance.
> >
> >I obviously don't fully understand the garbage collection option -
> >why is it not needed in these conditions?
>
> gbak isn't a file-copy utility. What it does is literally dissect
a
> database into metadata and data and save the whole lot to a file
format
> that it can later read and use to reconstruct the database new,
pure and
> pristine. Restore resets everything and rebuilds indexes from
ground zero.
>
> In the course of performing this miracle, its default behaviour is
to tidy
> up old record versions and other garbage in the existing database,
on the
> assumption that life will just go on, with the gbk tucked safely
away
> somewhere for the next rainy day. Remember, in Firebird you can
perform a
> backup whilst users are logged in and working. The gbk won't
contain any
> changes that occurred after the backup started, however.
>
> Now, if your main intention is to get a backup, restore it and then
carry
> on with the restored database, the housecleaning of the existing
database
> isn't necessary, since you are going to ditch it anyway. So use
the -g
> switch to disable garbage collection.
>
> Just DON'T restore the gbk over the top of your existing,
> about-to-be-trashed version. Restore in some safely remote place
first, as
> a precaution; and, rather than overwrite, zip up the old database
onto
> CDs, as another precaution. (Just make sure you do this when
NOBODY is
> logged in, not even SYSDBA.)
>
> ...or, live dangerously... <g>
>
> cheers,
> Helen
>
>
> All for Open and Open for All
> Firebird Open SQL Database · http://firebirdsql.org ·
> http://users.tpg.com.au/helebor/
> _______________________________________________________