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Re: RFS: 'snap2' rsync-based backup program with GUI

@Thomas,
Thanks for your comments.

Screenshots of the snap2 GUI are here: http://linuxbackups.org/node/25.

I did not mention every feature of snap2 in my RFS (I did however link to the program webpage where you could read more about it.)  snap2 does *not* do exactly the same thing as Dirvish.  I installed Dirvish and looked at it, and see that it does not support mirror-type backups (only snapshots).  Snapshot backups are not appropriate for every situation (I use both snapshot and mirror backups.)  Also, based on the Dirvish man page, it appears to be *less* configurable than snap2. (Can rsync compression be turned on and off?  Can backup be aborted if through accident there happens to be no reference directory?)  Also I see no support for multiple backup sets (greatly important), etcetera.  And Dirvish has perl as a dependency, and I would want to avoid that.

Furthermore, as the developer of snap2 (both shell script and GUI frontend), I was able to modify snap2's shell script to mesh nicely with the GUI.

Thanks for pointing out the need for a source package (which seems odd for a package that is 100% source already, but I understand this is a rule.)

Lloyd

On Fri, 11 Jun 2010 08:07:17 -0600, Thomas Goirand <thomas@goirand.fr> wrote:


Lloyd Standish wrote:

Hello DD's:

My name is Lloyd Standish.  I am the author and upstream maintainer of
snap2, a fast, easy-to-use rsync-based backup program with GUI.  It is
considered "tested/stable" after several months of testing.  I first
released it publicly in 2009, but I used a previous version of the
script (no GUI) for years.  Snap2 is licensed under GNU GPL version
3.  The Debian package is Lintian-clean.

You may already be thinking, "There are already lots of backup
programs in Debian."  True, but I believe none of them makes
hard-linked snapshot-type backups easily available for less-technical
Debian user, yet with flexibility and power to please even the most
advanced users.

The snap2 package consists of 3 bash shell scripts, with the GUI
implemented via gtkdialog.  There is a non-interactive bash shell
script (snap2engine) and an interactive GUI (snap2) for configuring
and optionally running the backup. Since this program is normally
configured and run via the snap2 GUI, no manual editing of
configuration files or running from the command line is needed (unless
it is used in a non-graphical environment, which is possible).

snap2's principal feature is rotating 'snapshot' backups to either
local or remote hard disk backup media.  (It can also do  'mirror'
type - single copy - backups.)  A snapshot backup is a full backup of
your files as they were at a given moment in time.  With snapshot
backups you can recover any of several past versions of files.

When using the snapshot backup method, snap2/rsync uses hard links to
duplicate identical files on the backup drive.  This greatly reduces
the disk space required on the backup drive, allowing (in most cases)
several gigs of backup 'snapshots' to fit on a one-gig USB flash
drive.  These snapshot backups function just like full backups - no
special software needed.  You can access them with any file manager,
and use cool file comparison tools to explore the differences between
files.

As I'm sure most of you know, when backing up a file that was modified
since the last backup, the rsync backend only needs to transmit the
changed *portions* of the file in order to create the new backup file.
This saves bandwidth, particularly important for backup to a remote
host (via Internet).

In sum, snap2 combines the convenience of full backups with the speed
and backup storage economy of incremental backups.

The idea of using hard links and rsync to create fast, space-saving
snapshot backups is not a new one, but snap2 is unique (I believe)
because of the GUI, which is used for (1) configuring backups, (2)
running them on demand, and (3) setting up 'Automatic Backups' (via
cron).  It and its dependencies are also very lightweight.

I'd like to get this into Debian because I believe it would be very
useful to many, and because I would like to give back to the Debian
community.  I am fully capable of maintaining it, as I have done since
I introduced it last year.  Of course, I hope to eventually become a
Debian Developer myself.

snap2 is already accepted into the latest Puppy Linux (Quirky) and has
been praised by Puppy users.

Based on the above description, your software does exactly the same thing as
Dirvish with less options, but with a GUI. I then wonder why you didn't just
write a GUI for Dirvish that has been around for so much time already.

Also, were can we find some screenshots of your app?

As someone highlighted already, you have to give the link to the .dsc file
of your package, so it can be sponsored.

Thomas
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