--- In firebird-support@yahoogroups.com, Lester Caine <lester@l...> wrote:

> rcrfb wrote:
>
> > there's another advantage of transaction logs (sometimes also called
> > 'redo logs'): the possibility of recovering a database to a time
> > between the last (full) backup and 'now'.
> >
> > Given the last (or some previous) backups and a continuous list of
> > transaction logs (most databases will write more than one redo log
> > file instead of writing into one single file), it should be possible
> > to install the database from the backup and make the recovery process
> > reading all needed redo logs until a given timestamp has reached.
> >
> > This will make it possible not to only recover from system crashes,
> > but it is (partly) possible to recover from "damagign SQL statements
> > (like 'dropping tables' or other such stuff). Such things cannot be
> > handled by shadow databases (as the table will be dropped there

too:-).

>
> But since we are professionals, we would have disabled those actions on
> the production database, and would be working to produce an upgrade on
> backup of the live data ;)
> With a view to pumping live data into the new database once all the
> off-line testing had been completed.
>
> --
> Lester Caine
> -----------------------------
> L.S.Caine Electronic Services

I really agree.....
but does not any DBA (or SysAd) know the folloing dialogue:

DAU(*): "Hey, the database is corrup! Can you give me back my data?"
DBA: "Why?"
DAU: "Ten minutes ago, all my data was there and then vanished!
The database must be defect!!!"
DBA (grumbling and checking the Database): "The database is OK; what
did you do on your data the last time?"
DAU: "In isql, I did a 'delete from <T>, but immediately followed by a
'ROLLBACK', so there should be no harm!!"
DBA: "Did you have autocommit diabled?"
DAU: "What is 'autocommit'????"


(*) DAU - Duemmster Anzunehmender User (sth. like 'Most foolish
possible user').

If there is some stuff like the redo logs / transaction logs, ...
that DAU maybe to convince me to restore his database (using
Pizza, Big Mac, ow what I need at that moment .. ;-)
As you see, such a feature will make life (of a dba/sysad) very
comfortable :-))

Roger