Backing up apps data

It is definately the database information that I was lacking in the restoration.  But for an add-on that doesn't keep everything within it's own directory (which, except for the database, I would hope is few), then the dpge command could also be useful, thanks.

I've done a bit of delving into the options, and have come up with these:

PHPMyAdmin has replication and backup functions.  Since I have other ReadyNAS's to be the slave in the process, the replication function would seem to be the best for me since it does it periodically and automatically.  But I assume that just about any MySQL database, including under Windows, could be set up as the slave.  For databases that don't change much, then a backup (which goes to a file instead of another database) could be a solution as well.

The data directory for MySQLis specified as /var/lib/mysql, so perhaps just backing that up will also take care of it?  I've found mixed information on that.  It seems some types of databases may have additional data outside of this directory.

Lastly, there is the mysqldump command, which pretty much does the same as a backup via PHPMyAdmin, though I don't believe the backup files are interchangeable.  But is is a command line tool and could be set up via a cronjob to run periodically (not that I'm an expert on doing that).  Dumping the database into a file within the directory the app is stored in just prior to making the app directory backup would be a good plan..

I'd say there is definately a call for an "AppBackup" app that would make it easier on the novice if someone is up to the task.  A simple way to edit/create jobs for crontab is another one -- giving it a more interactive interface akin to the Windows task scheduler.