Export backup detects block corruption

Though you perform other types of backup regularly, it is good to perform full e
xport of database at regular intervals, because export detects any data or block
corruptions in the database. By using export file, it is also possible to recov
er individual objects, whereas other backup methods do not support individual ob
ject recovery.
Export can be used to export the database at different levels of functionality:
Full export (full database export) (FULL=Y)
User-level export (exports objects of specified users) (OWNER=userlist)
Table-level export (exports specified tables and partitions) (TABLES=tablelist)
Transportable tablespaces (TABLESPACES=tools, TRANSPORT_TABLESPACE=y)
There are two methods of Export:
Conventional Path (default)Uses SQL layer to create the export file. The fact is
that the SQL layer introduces CPU overhead due to character set, converting numb
ers, dates and so on. This is time consuming.
Direct path (DIRECT=YES)Skips the SQL layer and reads directly from database buff
ers or private buffers. Therefore it is much faster than conventional path.
We will discuss scripts to perform the full, user-level, and table-level export
of database. The scripts also show you how to compress and split the export file
while performing the export. This is especially useful if the underlying operat
ing system has a limitation of 2GB maximum file limit.
Understand scripting
This chapter requires understanding of basic Unix shell and DOS batch programmin
g techniques that are described in Chapter 2 "Building Blocks." That chapter exp
lained some of the common routines that will be used across most of the scripts
presented here.
This book could have provided much more simple scripts. But, considering standar
dization across all scripts and the reusability of individual sections for your
own writing of scripts, I am focusing on providing a comprehensive script, rathe
r than a temporary fix. After you understand one script, it is easy to follow th
e flow for the rest of the scripts.