Databases Beginner

What is Database Backup?

The process of creating copies of database data to protect against data loss from failures, corruption, or human error.

Backup strategies include logical backups (pg_dump — SQL statements to recreate data), physical backups (file-level copies of data directory), and continuous archiving (WAL shipping for point-in-time recovery).

The 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies of data, on 2 different media types, with 1 offsite copy. Test restores regularly — an untested backup is not a backup. Automate backups with cron and monitor for failures. Cloud providers offer managed backup solutions.

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Related Terms

ORM (Object-Relational Mapping)

A technique that lets you interact with a database using object-oriented code instead of writing raw SQL queries.

Structured Query Language — the standard language for managing and querying data in relational databases.

A database object that automatically executes a specified function when certain events (INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE) occur on a table.

Database Index Types

Different index structures (B-tree, Hash, GIN, GiST, BRIN) optimized for various query patterns and data types.

PostgreSQL's binary JSON data type that stores JSON documents with indexing, querying, and manipulation capabilities.

Row-Level Security (RLS)

A database feature that restricts which rows a user can access in a table based on security policies.

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