Development Backup Strategies

To back up your development work as you go along, there are several strategies you can use:

1. Periodically save a Package that contains your application

All you have to do is add the application to your package. All dependencies are automatically include. Then download the package--a zip file containing the XML metadata that defines the application components) and store it somewhere (you can even put it under source control). You can then go back to an earlier version by deleting the current version and installing from a saved package.)

2. Use the Metadata Repository.

With that system, you directly integrate platform development with a source control system. Others who share the system can then update their development-instance of the platform, which runs as a completely independent environment on the developer's local machine.

3. Set up development Sandboxes.

That way, the version you're working is separate from the production version, so you can try things out without breaking anything, until you know it's working. When you're ready, you deploy from one sandbox to another, or to the production platform, by clicking a button to push a package. (In effect, the production version is a backup of the last working version, before you began working on it.)