Quick backup system for large projects

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+2 Q:

Quick backup system for large projects

I've always backed up all my source codes into .zip files and put it in my usb drive and uploaded to my server somewhere else in the world.. however I only do this once every two weeks, because my project is a little big.

Right now my project directories (I have a few of them) contains a hierarchy of c++ files in it, and interspersed with them are .o files which would make backing up take a while if not ignored.

What tools exist out there that will let me just back things up efficiently, conveniently and lets me specify which file types to back up (lots of .png, .jpg and some text types in there), and which directories to be ignored (esp. the build dirs)?

Or is there any ingenious methods out there that people use?

+2 A:

Though not a backup solution, a version control manager on a remote server responds to most of your needs:

only changes are saved, not the whole project
you can filter out what you don't want to save

Moreover, you can create archives of your repository for true backup purposes.

If you want to learn about version control, take a look at Eric Sink's weblog, in particular:

Source Control HOWTO, for the basics of source control
Mercurial, Subversion, and Wesley Snipes for the links to articles on distributed version control systems

mouviciel 2010-03-19 08:59:40

+1 OP should definitly take a look at Git, Mercurial, SVN and the like. Of those, my personal preference is with Git.

Lieven 2010-03-19 09:00:51

Git looks promising, because I've been told about it by someone before as well. Looks like I have to read the manual a bit before being able to use it though..

kamziro 2010-03-19 09:21:06

@kamziro - it would solve the problem you are having and it would gain you much more when you get the hang of it. Making the transition will take time and effort but if you stick to it, it will definitly pay off.

Lieven 2010-03-19 09:44:54

I just tried it out, however "git commit" is asking me whether I want to add these myriad of files. Is this process one off, or will it have to be repeated often? Is there a way to autoadd all these files of a certain type?

kamziro 2010-03-19 11:39:45

Okay, looks like it was my fault with a wrong exclude line. Anyhow, with a few scripts, ./backup into an archive while ignoring all the .o and build directories worked like a charm :D Thanks

kamziro 2010-03-19 13:49:51

+2 A:

I use dropbox, im a single developer developing software. In some projects I work out from my dropbox which means they synchronize every time i build. Other projects i copy the source code there my self. But most important is that i can work on all my computers with dropbox installed on them... works for my simple needs

H4mm3rHead 2010-03-19 09:00:23

Interesting.. however the build system I use puts all the .o files (for c++) in the same directory.. it'll keep getting changed from time to time. Might be good in conjunction with git though..

kamziro 2010-03-19 09:22:23

Agree with mouviciel. If you do not want that, consider rsync or unison to efficiently keep an up-to-date copy, be it on the same or a different machine.

Dan Andreatta 2010-03-19 11:22:12

ansaurus

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Quick backup system for large projects

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