Time stamp file names for backups or archives

timestamp

# Time stamp file names for backups or archives
# http://www.24hourapps.com/2009/02/linux-tips-8-time-stamp-file-names-for.html

# When doing simply backups (non-incremental) it is useful to be able to automatically
# time stamp or date stamp file names. This makes archives much easier to navigate when
# it comes time to retrieve a backup.

# The command for doing this is quite simple. To just create a file with a time stamped file name,
# use the following command:

touch myfile-$(date '+%Y-%m-%d-%T')

# The command will produce a file called myfile-2009-02-25-17:32:01 You can also use it to make
# backups when combined with tar. The following code will create a date stamped gzipped tar file
# of a directory called test.

tar czvf test_backup_$(date '+%Y%m%d').tgz test/

# Using the above commands with cron can allow you to quickly create a very simple, yet effective,
# backup system for any important folders that you need to archive.