Re: [rdiff-backup-users] Restarting development ... or starting over

[Daniel Miller]

>> I wasn't really prepared to make this announcement so soon, but now
>> seems like a good time to let the community know. I've been working
>> on a new implementation of rdiff-backup since about a month ago when
> 
> [snip]
> 
> I'm not a coder... [snip]
> 
> Now, on top of that I'd like to have all the fanciness present in all the 
> other programs, particularly a SQL backend for the metadata storage...

Out of curiosity, if you're not a coder what do you plan to do with a SQL 
backend?

I actually considered using SQLite as a backend for storing metadata, but I 
just couldn't justify it since rdiff-backup would have no real benefit from the 
features of SQL (complex queries, joins, etc.). The only real benefit would be 
simpler random-access (for restoring selected files, for example). However, 
random access in a database either requires an index, which takes extra HDD 
space, or it involves a sequential scan, which is exactly what rdiff-backup 
already does. Why add another layer of complexity if it's not needed? It would 
likely just slow things down and add bloat to the repository. Having said all 
that, I did write the new version with a well-defined "database" interface, 
which means other backends (possibly MongoDB) could be added without affecting 
the frontend.

~ Daniel