[Evolution-users] Did the database structure change between Evolution versions 3.28-5 and 3.44-4?

[Pete Biggs]

On Sat, 2023-09-30 at 21:43 +0200, Volker Bartheld wrote:
> Hi Patrick!
> 
> On Sat, 2023-09-30 at 13:30 +0100, Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:
> > On Sat, 2023-09-30 at 11:02 +0200, Volker Bartheld wrote:
> > > On Fri, 2023-09-29 at 13:37 -0700, Bert Struik via evolution-users
> > > wrote:
> > > > I synchronize Evolution on two computers by "rsync"ing their
> > > > .local/evolution/mail directories.
> > > Not related to Evolution itself (I typically use the built-in Backup
> > > option because the database is quite large and I don't want to wait for
> > > rsync to complete its job across the LAN all the time)
> > To reiterate what has been said several times in the past: the Backup
> > option is not intended as a means of synching multiple instances of
> > Evolution.
> 
> I hope, the backup option is at least able to build the exact same server
> settings, other Evolution options, email/usenet database and whatnot that was
> created on machine A on machine B. Ideally at least across a couple versions of
> Evolution and not just from 3.44.4 to 3.44.5. Because if my SSD dies or I
> decide, that I do not want Linux Mint anymore but Ubuntu-something, that comes
> with a newer version of Evolution, I need to somehow restore my database.
> 
> If that is not possible, the process does not even deserve being called a
> "backup" but rather "occupational therapy". And I'd really like to know what the
> recommended procedure is in this use case.

The in-Evolution backup creates a compressed tar file of the data and
configuration.  Restoring the backup re-creates the exact same
configuration/data - if you are restoring to a newer version of
Evolution, the subsequent first run of the program will update the data
structures to be compatible in the same way that any Evolution upgrade
will do.

You CAN NOT restore a backup to a lower version of Evolution. 

> 
> I understand that rsync --archive ~/.local/evolution/ /media/mynas/Evolution/ is
> evil and I understand why it would not work anywhere else but on the exact same
> machine with the exact same installation.
> 

And that's not even the storage location for Evolution data files :-)

>  That's why I don't do I even though it
> is a royal PITA to permanently haul 10+GB across the network, with no chance to
> automate the process and no option to do an incremental backup which the Btrfs
> file system on my Netgear NAS would really appreciate.
> 
> No hard feelings, but I'm a bit thin skinned when it comes to three decades
> worth of personal data.
> 

Multiple backups using something like restic is really what you need to
do.  Personally, my desktop is backed up to three places nightly, one
of them is a cloud storage bucket.  You aren't the only one who is
paranoid about decades of data.

P.