[cedar-backup-svn] SF.net SVN: cedar-backup: [869] cedar-backup2/trunk

[<pro...@us...>]

Revision: 869
          http://cedar-backup.svn.sourceforge.net/cedar-backup/?rev=869&view=rev
Author:   pronovic
Date:     2008-03-18 17:52:36 -0700 (Tue, 18 Mar 2008)

Log Message:
-----------
Document "link farm" collect configuration

Modified Paths:
--------------
    cedar-backup2/trunk/Changelog
    cedar-backup2/trunk/manual/src/basic.xml
    cedar-backup2/trunk/manual/src/config.xml

Modified: cedar-backup2/trunk/Changelog
===================================================================
--- cedar-backup2/trunk/Changelog	2008-03-19 00:24:19 UTC (rev 868)
+++ cedar-backup2/trunk/Changelog	2008-03-19 00:52:36 UTC (rev 869)
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 		- Add CollectDir.linkDepth attribute
 		- Modify collect action to obey CollectDir.linkDepth
 		- Update user manual to discuss new attribute
+		- Document "link farm" option for collect configuration
 	* Implement a capacity-checking extension (closes: #1915496).
 		- Add new extension in CedarBackup2/extend/capacity.py
 		- Refactor ByteQuantity out of split.py and into config.py

Modified: cedar-backup2/trunk/manual/src/basic.xml
===================================================================
--- cedar-backup2/trunk/manual/src/basic.xml	2008-03-19 00:24:19 UTC (rev 868)
+++ cedar-backup2/trunk/manual/src/basic.xml	2008-03-19 00:52:36 UTC (rev 869)
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #
 # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
 #
-# Copyright (c) 2005-2007 Kenneth J. Pronovici.
+# Copyright (c) 2005-2008 Kenneth J. Pronovici.
 # All rights reserved.
 #
 # This work is free; you can redistribute it and/or modify it 
@@ -267,9 +267,11 @@
             <footnote><para>Analagous to <filename>.cvsignore</filename> in CVS</para></footnote> 
             or specify absolute paths or filename patterns 
             <footnote><para>In terms of Python regular expressions</para></footnote>
-            to be excluded.
+            to be excluded.  You can even configure a backup <quote>link
+            farm</quote> rather than explicitly listing files and directories
+            in configuration.
          </para>
-
+            
          <para>
             This action is optional on the master.  You only need to configure
             and execute the collect action on the master if you have data to

Modified: cedar-backup2/trunk/manual/src/config.xml
===================================================================
--- cedar-backup2/trunk/manual/src/config.xml	2008-03-19 00:24:19 UTC (rev 868)
+++ cedar-backup2/trunk/manual/src/config.xml	2008-03-19 00:52:36 UTC (rev 869)
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #
 # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
 #
-# Copyright (c) 2005-2007 Kenneth J. Pronovici.
+# Copyright (c) 2005-2008 Kenneth J. Pronovici.
 # All rights reserved.
 #
 # This work is free; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
@@ -1099,9 +1099,43 @@
             The collect configuration section contains configuration options
             related the the collect action.  This section contains a variable
             number of elements, including an optional exclusion section and a
-            repeating subsection used to specify which directories to collect.
+            repeating subsection used to specify which directories and/or files
+            to collect.  You can also configure an ignore indicator file, which
+            lets users mark their own directories as not backed up.
          </para>
 
+         <sidebar>
+
+            <title>Using a Link Farm</title>
+
+            <para>
+               Sometimes, it's not very convenient to list directories one by
+               one in the Cedar Backup configuration file.  For instance, when
+               backing up your home directory, you often exclude as many
+               directories as you include.  The ignore file mechanism can be of
+               some help, but it still isn't very convenient if there are a lot
+               of directories to ignore (or if new directories pop up all of the
+               time).
+            </para>
+
+            <para>
+               In this situation, one option is to use a <firstterm>link
+               farm</firstterm> rather than listing all of the directories in
+               configuration.  A link farm is a directory that contains nothing
+               but a set of soft links to other files and directories.
+               Normally, Cedar Backup does not follow soft links, but you can
+               override this behavior for individual directories using the
+               <literal>link_depth</literal> option (see below).  
+            </para>
+
+            <para>
+               When using a link farm, you still have to deal with each
+               backed-up directory individually, but you don't have to modify
+               configuration.  Some users find that this works better for them.
+            </para>
+               
+         </sidebar>
+
          <para>
             In order to actually execute the collect action, you must have
             configured at least one collect directory or one collect file.


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