Question

Is there any way in MySQL to only log deletes? I tried using the mysql binary log option but unfortunately, there are too many inserts to my database and the file swells instantly. If I let it grow for more than a day or so it will take up all the room on the server. I just want to log deletes for disaster recovery purposes. Any thoughts?

Answer 1

A log file contains all changes to a database. It can be used to roll a backup forward:

After a backup file has been restored,
the events in the binary log that were
recorded after the backup was made are
re-executed. These events bring
databases up to date from the point of
the backup

But in order to roll a database forward, the log has to contain all updates, not just deletes. So I don’t think you can change it to just log deletes.

Is it an option to make full backups more often? After a full backup, you delete the old log files. That’s a good way to keep the size of the binary log under control.

The MySQL binary logs take up disk
space. To free up space, purge them
from time to time. One way to do this
is by deleting the binary logs that
are no longer needed, such as when we
make a full backup:

shell> mysqldump --single-transaction --flush-logs --master-data=2 \
     --all-databases --delete-master-logs > backup_sunday_1_PM.sql