Re: How to apply archive logs on an cold backup

Bob Jones wrote:

> In order to provide further advice, I need to make many assumptions about
> OP's environment, his level of skill, and his purpose.

In order to provide *meaningful* advice, you don't make ASSUMPTIONS at all. You ask him about it, and react accordingly to the information he provides. And that, Bob, has been my precise point all along. You didn't ask him; you didn't canvass all possibilities; you just assumed a situation and answered according to your assumption.

[snip]

> It is more like if a person wants to know how to peel a potato, you show
> him how. You don't tell him to thred the potato instead. The analogy
> serves no purpose here other than trying to divert the issue further.

I think we can all here judge whether the issue has been diverted or not.

>> Similarly, when asked 'How do I recover a database using a cold backup?',
>> one replies "By issuing the command 'recover database .. using backup
>> controlfile'" only if one doesn't want to be making much sense. Because
>> ordinarily, and most commonly, no you don't.
>>

One more time then. Where in the original post does it say he's lost everything? (Clue: it doesn't).

That he has lost everything is an *assumption* you've made.

Based on the information he actually provided, the best you (or I) can advise him is that because he is in archivelog mode, he has all the options that anyone else in archivelog mode has to recover a database. That's it.

Before you start handing out recovery commands for scenarios that may or may not apply: *find out what the situation actually is*.

Which you singularly failed to do. And which I, in contrast, invited him to let me know about if the generalised advice was not sufficient for his purposes.

See the difference?  

> As I said, I don't try to guess OP's situation. There can be many IFs.

But you *did* guess it. You have assumed he has "lost everything". Your words. Here's the original poster's words:

"i have the database with archive log and one cold backup. how to apply archive log in cold backup?"

Where in that does it say what he has lost? If we're going to get into textual analysis, one might reasonably argue that he tells you in plain terms that he has NOT lost everything, because "I have the database".

Now it is because you have assumed the loss of everything that you have advised him to use 'recover database...using backup controlfile'. But the assumption is just an assumption, and the command you offered may not be appropriate. (And never mind that if he had actually lost *everything*, he would have needed a 'until ...' clause in there to be successful -because he'd have lost his current redo log).

What was worse, though, is that the command you offered has risks and costs associated with it which the hypothetical advice to, say, "just do 'recover database'" does not. But you made no mention of those risks or costs.

And *that* is why your advice was complete trash. It was ONE command, where many could have been offered; based on an assumption about his situation that his actual post does not support; without a word of warning about the costs associated with the command offered; without a hint that there might be other commands to be used in other circumstances.

> This sounds like an argument from a lousy lawyer who argue only for the
> win not for the fact.

Flounder away, flatfish. No-one here is paying attention any more.

HJR Received on Thu Sep 02 2004 - 22:47:50 CDT