[maemo-users] Sync vs. Import/Export

[From: Mark]

On Tue, Jun 24, 2008 at 10:21 AM, Simon Budig <simon at budig.de> wrote:
> Mark (wolfmane at gmail.com) wrote:
>> On Tue, Jun 24, 2008 at 10:03 AM, Simon Budig <simon at budig.de> wrote:
>> > Mark (wolfmane at gmail.com) wrote:
>> >> By definition, sync is the process of making sure that two or more
>> >> locations contain the *same* up-to-date files:
>> >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_synchronization
>> >
>> > *Files*? I thought we were talking about database records of contact
>> > information? I guess you were confused when you picked this link?
>>
>> You clearly have a lot of trouble with concepts. Databases *are*
>> files. When you sync records, what you are actually doing is updating
>> the database *files* so that they are identical.
>
> May I refer to Wikipedia?
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database
>
> "A database is a structured collection of records or data."
>

...STORED AS FILES...


> It may be implemented as a single file on disk, it may be implemented as
> multiple files on multiple disks, it may be implemented as a cluster of
> computers, it may be implemented as a part of the system memory, it may
> be implemented as a lot of text on dead tree paper.

...I guess you're unaware that the terms "file" and "folder" actually
originate from dead tree objects, not technology...

>
> If you think that "databases are files" then there really is absolutely
> no point in continuing this discussion since you probably don't even
> understand the concept of a concept.
>
> Bye,
>        Simon
> --
>              simon at budig.de              http://simon.budig.de/

I understand that databases may be collections of files, but they are
files nonetheless. Or are you claiming that databases take up zero
disk space and are stored in the "aether" somehow?

"Conceptually", databases don't deal with files, only objects and
data. But when you're talking about syncing databases, the end result
is at least two files or sets of files of identical format that
contain identical data. If database A has 16 files and database B has
18 files, then a pure sync operation between the two will result with
an identical number of files (it's impossible to say how many without
knowing the actual differences - it could be anywhere up to to 34)
with identical contents. (This is of course ignoring any version
backup that may also be happening which is yet another completely
separate concept.) If only parts of the databases are being synced,
then only those parts will be identical, but they will indeed be
identical. A photocopy of a dead tree file may be black & white where
the original was color, but the data is the same. Printing a file on
one machine with one font will appear different from the exact same
file printed with another font, but the data is identical, and the
storage format is identical.

...which is all irrelevant anyway, as the discussion is about sync &
import/export, not the definition of a database vs. a file, and sync
and import/export are NOT the same thing.

Mark