PCF Testing

I think many people are hesitant to jump into testing because everyone knows that the nightly builds are  by definition, unstable, and people already have their channels set up just as they like them.

There are two ways you can preserve and restore your data prior to starting a test run, OPML export, or by copying off your database.

Export Channels OPML

This option is built into miro and can be accomplished as easily as going to the Channels menu and selecting Export Channels (OPML)… . This will create a list of your channels and channel folders that you save off to your system. You can then import the list at any time using the Channels menu and selecting Import Channels (OPML)… .

Using this, will only save off your channel list. If you delete your database, and start over with a clean system, Importing the channels via OPML will not preserve the downloaded, watched or unwatched status of videos in each channel.

Database Backup and Restore

Currently database backup is still a manual process and the location varies with your operating system.

• Windows XP: C:\\Documents and Settings\(you)\Application Data\Participatory Culture Foundation \Miro\Support\sqlitedb
• Vista: C:\\Users\(you)\AppData\Roaming\Participatory Culture Foundation\Miro\Support\sqlitedb
• OS X: /Users/(you)/Library/Application Support/Miro/sqlitedb
• GTKX11: ~yourhome/.miro/sqlitedb

Just copy your sqlitedb file to a safe location on your system.  If something goes wrong during testing – you can do a fresh install, copy your database back to the original location, restart Miro and be back up and running.

* Note:  If you migrated your movie storage – restoring the old db would cause it to lose track of those items.

I hope these two options make you feel a little more comfortable about diving in to some of the testing builds.  If anyone out there wants to help make the backup / restore process a little less manual – reply to this post.