Fairly serious issue (IMHO) with Base 24.8 -- database corrupted

English
#1

I ran into the following issue. I do not need “support” – Thank Goodness for Backups – but I think it is a very serious issue that should be addressed.

The ODB database resides on Google Drive. I access it through Google’s Windows “drive” software that makes the Google storage appear to be a local disk drive. I inadvertently accessed the drive with a user that has Google “Contributor” level access. A Google Contributor can modify files but cannot create files.

I attempted to open the database. Not surprisingly, the open failed with “cannot create lock file.” When Base ended, the ODB database was completely destroyed – reduced to a zero length file.

I am quite certain of this behavior. I did it twice before I realized what was happening. I can probably re-create it if someone wants to see it.

Thank you for your attention.
Charles

#2

Which database do you use? Internal HSQLDB?
What did you do after error “cannot create lock file.” appears?
Might be it is this:
https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=164973

#4

Thanks, @RobertG. I don’t think it is the same as the referenced bug but it certainly is similar. I don’t believe I responded to any prompt suggesting any particular action. I can recreate the problem if you wish.

Forgive my ignorance. How do I tell what kind of database it is? The file extension is ODB. I inherited it; I did not create it.

#5

Bottom line of your database window: May read as HSQL embedded or Firebird embedded.

#6

And Google Drive does not provide any recovery of lost files?

#7

Embedded database HSQLDB Embedded

Thanks!

#8

@Villeroy, absolutely, yes, they do, see the second sentence of my OP.

Otherwise I couldn’t have done it TWICE LOL.

#9

Always open a local copy of your embedded database that is synchronized with the Google Drive. When you access the first record set by opening any table, query, form or report, the embedded database will be “installed” to a temporary directory. The database will be wrapped back into the Base document when you close the last record set. All this takes time. It takes another magnitude of time over the network. If you shut the laptop lid or if you pull the lan cable while the whole wrapping takes place, the database is lost.

  1. Always edit a local copy.
  2. Synchronize the odb file with a cloud drive after the office suite has been closed.
#10

@Villeroy, that may be what I do. I really have no idea what Google Drive is doing under the covers. I have very little control. It is all modern “magic” software.

Google Drive offers two options described as “Stream Files” or “Mirror Files.” I have chosen “Stream Files.”

I don’t think Base should behave this way no matter which option the user chooses. I did not pull a LAN cable or close my laptop lid. Base just trashed the DB on its own.

#11

A casual interruption of your internet connection is enough to destroy this type of database. The concept of “embedded HSQL” is 20 years old (OpenOffice 2.0). It was always intended to be a local database on the hard disk of the local machine. Base can connect with huge databases served on remote machines. But that would not be “embedded HSQL”. Setting up a remote database is not for laymen. Embedded HSQL is.

That option would act as I described. It mirrors the files stored on your local machine.

#12

Yeah, but there was no casual interruption of my Internet connection.

LibreOffice Base clobbered the database file. THAT is the issue I am reporting, not the purported unreliability of my Internet connection.

If you folks don’t see that as a problem, fine. It’s your product, not mine.

#13

Nobody can do anything about a problem that occurs only on your machine with your faulty storage (cloud in “streaming mode”).
The one and only solution is to use embedded HSQL on your local computer. That’s what this simplified database setup is designed for.

No, it is not my product. We are all users like you.

#14

Were I and others to work with a local copy downloaded from the cloud to the users’ PCs would there be any protection against simultaneous updates by different users? I would guess that the answer is No – which precludes that approach for the non-profit I am “working” for – but hopefully I am missing something. I am not a database or cloud storage expert.

#15

Wil depend on your sync-system outside LO, but especially with the embedded types I would avoid this. Today it is easy enough to set up a MySQL or MariaDB wich has all this as basic features and can be accessed also by LibreOffice. So unless you like to re-invent 25 years of networking/database technology, use the established and proven solutions. (MySQL, MariaDB or Postgres are also free to use. )
.
I use an instance of MaiaDB locally on my laptop and another database running on my NAS.

#16

Please accept my apologies for bothering you.

#17

No offense taken.

Impressum (Legal Info) | Datenschutzerklärung (Privacy Policy)   Content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 license.