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List:       kde-bugs-dist
Subject:    [Bug 79698] Disabling backups (file~) explicite,
From:       Philippe Rigault <prigault () oricom ! ca>
Date:       2005-01-12 3:43:12
Message-ID: 20050112034312.20829.qmail () ktown ! kde ! org
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------- Additional Comments From prigault oricom ca  2005-01-12 04:43 -------
> Nevertheless, we all probably agree that from 3 option given variant c)
> (ability to specify special backup directory instead of backuping in place)
> is the best one. 

I certainly don't, option c is _very_bad_ for several reasons:
 1. Applications that make backup files (which includes all editors) _always_ make them in \
place. It is a _standard_ that all users would expect. Consistency of interface being one of \
the strengths of KDE, it would be a pity to ruin it by inconsistency of such a basic behaviour. \
2. It is not feasible easily in a robust way, and quickly brings many more problems than \
benefits. Consider the following scenarios:  a) Backup directory problematic (not enough space, \
read-only NFS-mount), which is detected at _write_ time, so you do all your editing and the \
editor bombs just as you hit Save.  b) ~/backups/<full path> is very inefficent. Edit a single \
file in kdepim for example, and end up creating \
$HOME/.backups/opt/build/kde/3.3.2/konstruct/kde/kdepim/work/kdepim-3.3.2/kmail/file.   c) \
Modify a file path (PATH1/foo -> PATH2/foo) after its backup is created guarantees that files \
do not correspind any more to their backups.  d) ~/backups/<full path> fails to work across \
many machines. Often, home directories are shared betwen machines (e.g NFS mount). Go edit a \
file in machine1:path/file and machine2:path/file -> name collision.

The only reasonable option IMO would be to add the option in 'preferences' for cleaning up the \
backup file (after each save, when closing a file or exiting the application) and the option to \
ask for confirmation to do so each time.

One can ask an application to clean up after itself, but certainly not to mess with directory \
structures.


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