Re: [Hsqldb-user] Re cover 1.8.0 database with corrupt data and script files

[Joel E. L. <joe...@ve...>]

On Wed, 2009-09-30 at 12:46 -0700, go...@in... wrote:
> Thinks like this have happened to our customers a few times over the
> years, and the effects are pretty devastating for our software.
> Shouldn't protection from corruption on power loss be built into the
> database? Has anything changed in 1.9 to help protect against this?
> We've taken to implementing a number of measures to try to mitigate
> against catastrophic failures like this, such as periodically doing a
> CHECKPOINT, and copying the database off to an autobackup directory
> upon startup, but none of these leave a very good taste in my mouth. 
> 
> 
> Thoughts?
> Carl Gould
> Inductive Automation 
> 
[snip]

Hi Carl -

I actually blame myself (not the software) for the problem because I
didn't have a recent backup.  I was just hoping that a manual method of
recovery might be possible.

As an Oracle database specialist, I always keep both physical and
logical backups available and have their generation well automated.  I
have also practiced full disaster recovery on many occasions.
I think that anything can get corrupted - including loss of a whole disk
or server.  I just failed to keep my business rules working in my
personal space (with HSQLDB).  I know - I should be very ashamed!

I believe that HSQLDB does have the ability to provide both logical and
physical backups via various kinds of shutdown or checkpoint, as you
indicated, followed by file copy to a safe location.  If I can dig out
from under the current mess, I will make setting up some cron jobs, to
accomplish this, my first priority.

I just need to think through how best to do things with the database
"live".

I have started to reconstruct things by using a hex dump followed by
ascii conversion.  I am trying to reconstruct by re-creating records in
an older database using copy and paste from the source.  It seems to
work but is very tedious.

Cheers -
Joel
>