Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Backing up the database
Havingfunctionalbackupsofyourdataandworkisprobablytheleastappreciated,yet
themostimportantthingyoucandoforyourproductivity(andstresslevel).Youmay
think that you don't need to have backups of your PostGIS database because you
have the original data imported to the database. But, do you remember all the work
you did to develop the final product? How about the intermediary products? Even if
youremembereverystepintheprocess,howmuchtimewillittaketocreatethein-
termediary and final products?
Ifanyofthesequestionsgivesyoupause,youneedtocreateabackupforyourdata.
Fortunately,PostgreSQLmakesthebackupprocesspainlessoratleastlesspainful
than the alternatives.
Getting ready
Inthisrecipe,weusePostgreSQL's
pg_dump
utility.The
pg_dump
utilityensuresthat
the data being backed up is consistent, even if it is currently in use.
How to do it...
Use the following steps to back up a database.
1. Startbybackingupthe
chapter10
databasebyexecutingthefollowingcom-
mand:
> pg_dump -f chapter10.backup -F custom
chapter10
We use the
-f
flag to specify that the backup should be placed in the
chapter10.backup
file. We also use the
-F
flag to set the format of the
backup output as custom by default, the most flexible and compressed of
pg_dump's
output formats.
2. InspectthebackupfilebyoutputtingthecontentsontoaSQLfilebyexecuting
the following command:
