Empty backup directory

[Daniel]

On 28/6/21 7:21, Steve Litt wrote:
> Daniel said on Sat, 26 Jun 2021 09:29:29 +0200
> 
>> Hi,
>>
>> After installing LyX, the backup directory is empty (Preferences >
>> Paths). Does that mean that no backups are created by default or that
>> the backups are created even though "Backup documents, every ...
>> minutes" is checked (Preferences > Look & Feel > Document Handling)
>> (btw. Look & Feel seems a misnomer for backup settings). Or is a
>> backup created in the directory of the lyx file (the title bar shows a
>> directory even for new not yet saved files, so I suppose these files
>> are backup there as well)?
> 
> Hi Daniel,
> 
> This isn't responsive to your exact question, but it still might be
> helpful...
> 
> The way I've designed my workflow, backup is a multi-pronged strategy
> not depending on any one application (such as LyX).
> 
> Obviously, one must regularly and frequently make complete backups of
> all their data, data being stuff they can't reinstall or re-download.
> This is the foundation of all backup.
> 
> But you can't do that every hour, or every 10 minutes when you're
> working on a project. Git's pretty good for making backups every time a
> milestone is reached (perhaps completion of another chapter). But git
> isn't perfect: It takes an amount of time and concentration that could
> cause you to forget what you were writing about.
> 
> I use a shellscript, called "bupsky", to back up at arbitrary moments
> so I don't get knocked back more than a few minutes when working
> continuously on a project. Here's bupsky:
> 
> ==============================================
> #!/bin/sh
> 
> buptrunk=/scratch/bup
> curdir=$(pwd | sed -e "s/.*\///")
> bupdir=$buptrunk/$curdir
> now=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H_%M_%S)
> src=../$curdir
> dst=$bupdir/${curdir}_$now
> 
> if test ! -d $bupdir; then
> 	mkdir $bupdir
> fi
> 
> cp -RpL $src $dst
> echo backup written to $dst
> ==============================================
> 
> The preceding shellscript takes the current directory and the whole
> tree below it, can copies it. For instance, with my system, If I were
> working in ~/docs/mynewbook, then bupsky would take that directory and
> everything below it, and copy it to a directory something like
> /scratch/bup/mynewbook_20210627_16_01_21 . The timestamp enables me to
> roughly isolate *which* version is what I need. I'd anticipate bupsky
> being good between git commits, or between real backups when git or
> some other version control program isn't being used.
> 
> Bupsky isn't optimal for trees containing huge files. Then again,
> backing up huge files in any way is suboptimal.
> 
> Obviously, bupsky will eventually fill the disk if things aren't
> pruned. No problem, once every 2 weeks, run a program that searches
> every directory under the backup root (/scratch/bup in my case), and rm
> -rf on any tree not containing a file less than 8 days old, on the
> theory that by that time, you will have backed up all your data and
> don't need the bupsky-created directories anymore.
> 
> Like I said, this isn't responsive to your question, but might be handy.
> 
> SteveT
> 
> Steve Litt
> Spring 2021 featured book: Troubleshooting Techniques of the Successful
> Technologist http://www.troubleshooters.com/techniques

Thanks. I'll see whether I can make use of this. And indeed, as you 
mention, it seems not help with my original problem with backups before 
even saving a file in LyX.
-- 
Daniel