snap2 'snapshot' backup software for Puppy

What features/apps/bugfixes needed in a future Puppy
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lstandish
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snap2 'snapshot' backup software for Puppy

#1 Post by lstandish »

I'd like to suggest that snap2 (http://www.linuxbackups.org) be included in the next Puppy. I think it offers backup features that other backup programs lack. Also, it is very small (34.7 K), fast, and has a simple gtkdialog-based GUI. The actual file transmission is done by rsync (included in Puppy 4.3.1). It also needs xterm - a standard Puppy package.

In addition to the well-known "sync" backup (mirror-type), snap2 offers "snapshot"-type backups, which is like a full backup, but using only the disk space of an incremental backup, thanks to Linux hard links. This allows one to keep what appear to be 8 gigs of backups on a 1 gig USB drive.

It will also do backups to a remote server where you have shell access, and will even automatically set up ssh public key (password-less) authentication. And it has a GUI to set up cron tasks for automatic execution of backups.

A question: aside from posting suggestions like this one, how does one go about introducing new GNU GPL'd software for Puppy? (I am, by the way, the author of snap2.)

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8-bit
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#2 Post by 8-bit »

From your site,you make the comment that Puppy seems to ignore Xterm and it being needed.
In truth, Puppy is not ignoring xterm. On Puppy, before the installation of the xterm pet, xterm is a system link to rxvt.
That is why the check for xterm by snap2 assumes xterm is available.

Also, your site for getting Snap2 does not seem to provide a clear path to downloading the file from the page your link points to.

As to getting exposure, just do a post with graphics under Additional Software or Announcements. You might also make reference to it on linuxquestions.org/puppy.

My little specialized utility took a while to get really noticed and as to feedback, I had very little.
But I must have fulfilled a need as a few makers of Puppy derivatives have decided to include it.

Also, if my utility had been bypassed for sake of a small size Puppy ISO, I would also understand.
Utility name withheld to protect the innocent. Or am I guilty? :wink:

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lstandish
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#3 Post by lstandish »

Thanks for the helpful advice, 8-bit.

On the xterm problem, I'm not referring to snap2's internal check to see whether or not xterm is available. I mean that even though the snap2 pet names the xterm package as a dependency, if you install snap2 without xterm installed, the Puppy package manager will not complain, and snap2 will not work. In sum, you have to install xterm "manually", since the Puppy package manager thinks xterm is already installed. This is on Puppy 4.3.1. I haven't checked this on earlier Puppies.

Regarding your comment about there not being a clear path to download snap2 on my website http://www.linuxbackups.org. I think that was true previously, but now I have a real clear "Download" article that I think the visitor can't miss, and the link to the directory where you download the pet should be easy to see in that short article.

I'll put the link to the download directory here too: http://www.linuxbackups.org/download.

I already have a post on snap2 with graphics on this forum. There's been very little response.

I made snap2 beta (it was supposed to already be stable/production) since I added so many new features to the GUI component that I felt it needed more testing. Maybe people are afraid of using beta software for backup. :) I don't foresee any new features for a while though, so soon I should be able to declare it stable/production again.

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#4 Post by BarryK »

lloyd,
Snap2 is very interesting. I'll consider it for a future release of Quirky.

However, I am reluctant to put in xterm. Why is rxvt inadequate?

Note, Quirky uses Urxvt, and probably most future puppies will be using Urxvt.
[url]https://bkhome.org/news/[/url]

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lstandish
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#5 Post by lstandish »

I'm hot on the trail to fixing snap2 to work with rxvt and urxvt.

I discovered that the problem is in the use of quote marks around arguments to rxvt. xterm is more forgiving about this.

I think I can fix this, probably today. I'm post again here when it is fixed.

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ttuuxxx
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#6 Post by ttuuxxx »

BarryK wrote:lloyd,
Snap2 is very interesting. I'll consider it for a future release of Quirky.

However, I am reluctant to put in xterm. Why is rxvt inadequate?

Note, Quirky uses Urxvt, and probably most future puppies will be using Urxvt.
Hi Barry ever use Mrxvt, it has tabs and is still small, I've been using it as default terminal in 2.14X for about 2 months now, runs just fine.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/materm/

Quote "Mrxvt is a multi-tabbed X terminal emulator based on rxvt. It is portable, lightweight and fast. It supports psuedo-transparency, background image (JPEG/PNG/XPM), tinting, NeXT/Rxvt/Xterm/SGI style scrollbar, multi-languages (CJK), XIM, freetype font..."
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lstandish
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xterm dependency removed

#7 Post by lstandish »

snap2 is working now (tested) with the following terminal emulators:
rxvt, urxvt, konsole. gnome-terminal, and xterm.

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lstandish
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#8 Post by lstandish »

ttuuxxx,
Wow, mrxvt is really cool! Thanks for pointing it out! I am a heavy terminal user, with often 3 or 4 terminals open at the same time, so I love the tab feature.

(By the way, snap2 works with mrxvt too, but you have to export the environment variable XTERM=mrxvt to make snap2 use it.)

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#9 Post by ttuuxxx »

lstandish wrote:ttuuxxx,
Wow, mrxvt is really cool! Thanks for pointing it out! I am a heavy terminal user, with often 3 or 4 terminals open at the same time, so I love the tab feature.

(By the way, snap2 works with mrxvt too, but you have to export the environment variable XTERM=mrxvt to make snap2 use it.)
Yes its nice that still rxvt based so it doesn't need vte, keeps it good and small :)
The only thing I find negative about it is the size of screen, its the same size of rxvt but if you paste some multiple lines of code in it, it gets messed up, to fix it is easy, just drag/increase the screen a bit larger. If I could figure out how to configure the screen so its a bit larger, I think that would fix it.
ttuuxxx
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lstandish
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#10 Post by lstandish »

This topic has is drifting away from snap2, but anyway I figured out how to make mrxvt open full screen. That may not be what you want, but it holds clues, I think, as to how to request a certain sized window from the window manager.

In /usr/share/doc/mrxvt-common/examples/mrxvtrc.sample.gz (Debian distribution) I found how to define a FullScreen "class". It has these comments:
# Request a full screen window from the window manager. Requires a EWMH
# compatible window manager. This certainly works on OpenBox, Fvwm, KDE, and
# possibly many others.

So I think there must be a "EWMH" standard that would have a way to request a certain window size.

To try this full screen mrxvt, extract the attached file to /root (your home directory), and execute mrxvt with 'mrxvt -name FullScreen'
Attachments
.mrxvtrc.zip
(456 Bytes) Downloaded 504 times
--
Lloyd
snap2 rotating snapshot backups for Puppy/Debian Lenny/Ubuntu
The convenience of full backups with the speed and disk economy of incremental backups
[url]http://standish.home3.org/snap2[/url]

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Argolance
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#11 Post by Argolance »

Bonjour,
What a pity that this very useful and complete program was not internationalized! Strange indeed (and irritating too!) that some English speaking programmers still do not realize many (Puppy) users don't speak English at all and will unfortunately never be able to use this program (properly)...

Cordialement.

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runtt21
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#12 Post by runtt21 »

Looks like you have found a new project to work on Argolance.
[url]http://macpup.org/runtt21[/url]

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Argolance
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#13 Post by Argolance »

Bonjour,
runtt21 wrote:Looks like you have found a new project to work on Argolance.
One more! :?
I already began to do it, but the main script is very special: labels of some buttons which have to be translated, are variables too! So it is very tactful and I am not sure to be able to make this properly... :oops:
EDIT: It is why I think it is much better the programmer to do it himself as he is writing the script.

I installed snap2 using PPM, from the Ubuntu repository (Puppy "precise"). But I couldn't get the deb file to see exactly what scripts have to be "gettexted". Do you know where/how I could upload the (latest) package?
Thanks.

Cordialement.

Jim1911
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#14 Post by Jim1911 »

Latest puppy version. Lloyd Standish's official website of snap2.

Barry still needs to consider snap2 for inclusion in official pups.

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#15 Post by Argolance »

Thank you!
Oh sh...! Though I had somewhat as a doubt, I worked on the 4.21 version!!! :evil:

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#16 Post by Argolance »

EDIT: wrong post :oops:

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