How to Tweak the Production Database

for Short Term Magento Projects

There will be times when you have to deal with short term projects. These projects dont
utilize the database extensively, and dont need all the elements present within a
database. Before you learn on how to tweak the database, lets try and understand what
happens when a project is handed over to you. You will need to perform these four steps
compulsorily

Transfer the source code for the source from the production environment into
the local environment
Download the media files (if any) and share it
Create a database dump and share it
Generate the code repository and an issue tracking system

You will see that, when dumping the database, there are a lot of elements that are not
required for short projects. How can you avoid dumping them? How will you know which
ones are not useful to your project? You will need to consult the so-called ignore list that
comes with the database to know which ones need to be ignored

adminnotification_inbox
aw_core_logger
dataflow_batch_export
dataflow_batch_import
log_customer
log_quote
log_summary
log_summary_type
log_url

log_url_info
log_visitor
log_visitor_info
log_visitor_online
index_event
report_event
report_compared_product_index
report_viewed_product_index
catalog_compare_item
catalogindex_aggregation
catalogindex_aggregation_tag
catalogindex_aggregation_to_tag

With this list in hand, you can easily figure out the functions that you wish to ignore.
Heres a code that will help you create the dump database for smaller projects i.e. this will
teach you in detail how to tweak a database
define('DS', DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR);

function _getExtractSchemaStatement($sqlFileName, $db)

{
$dumpSchema = 'mysqldump' . ' ';
$dumpSchema .= '--no-data' . ' ';
$dumpSchema .= '-u ' . $db['user'] . ' ';
$dumpSchema .= '-p' . $db['pass'] . ' ';
$dumpSchema .= '-h ' . $db['host'] . ' ';
$dumpSchema .= $db['name'] .' > ' . $sqlFileName;

return $dumpSchema;
}

function _getExtractDataStatement($sqlFileName, $db)

{
$tables = array(
'adminnotification_inbox',
'aw_core_logger',
'dataflow_batch_export',
'dataflow_batch_import',
'log_customer',
'log_quote',
'log_summary',
'log_summary_type',
'log_url',
'log_url_info',
'log_visitor',
'log_visitor_info',
'log_visitor_online',
'index_event',
'report_event',
'report_viewed_product_index',
'report_compared_product_index',
'catalog_compare_item',
'catalogindex_aggregation',
'catalogindex_aggregation_tag',
'catalogindex_aggregation_to_tag'
);

$ignoreTables = ' ';

foreach($tables as $table) {
$ignoreTables .= '--ignore-table=' . $db['name'] . '.' . $db['pref'] . $table . ' ';
}

$dumpData = 'mysqldump' . ' ';

$dumpData .= $ignoreTables;
$dumpData .= '-u ' . $db['user'] . ' ';
$dumpData .= '-p' . $db['pass'] . ' ';
$dumpData .= '-h ' . $db['host'] . ' ';
$dumpData .= $db['name'] .' >> ' . $sqlFileName;

return $dumpData;
}

function export_tiny()
{
$configPath = '.' . DS . 'app' . DS . 'etc' . DS . 'local.xml';
$xml = simplexml_load_file($configPath, NULL, LIBXML_NOCDATA);

$db['host'] = $xml->global->resources->default_setup->connection->host;
$db['name'] = $xml->global->resources->default_setup->connection->dbname;
$db['user'] = $xml->global->resources->default_setup->connection->username;
$db['pass'] = $xml->global->resources->default_setup->connection->password;
$db['pref'] = $xml->global->resources->db->table_prefix;

$sqlFileName = 'var' . DS . $db['name'] . '-' . date('j-m-y-h-i-s') . '.sql';

//Extract the DB schema

$dumpSchema = _getExtractSchemaStatement($sqlFileName, $db);
exec($dumpSchema);

//Extract the DB data

$dumpData = _getExtractDataStatement($sqlFileName, $db);
exec($dumpData);
}

export_tiny();
With this script added, you will get a dump of the original database minus the elements
marked in ignore list.
Using the Script
Now, lets learn how to use the script to generate the dump database for short projects.
Heres a step by step method for the same
First you will need to copy the script to the Magento root directory. In case, you have
been given the SSH access, you will need to execute the path php tinydump.php. In case,
you dont have SSH access then you can run this script using the following path:
http://mymagentostore.comtinydump.php. Once the script has performed its task, you
will find an sql file which appears as follows:
{DB NAME}-{date(j-m-y-h-i-s)}.sql
With this, the database file size is tweaked, and your download time is reduced
In case, your host restricts the functions, system() and exec() php which have been used
in this code, then you will need to use the following method to tweak the database. To

export the database, you will need to perform the following steps from the phpmyadmin
path
Export Structure of Database
Select the following options

Tables (select all)

Disable foreign key checks
Dump table

Export the Data

To export the data from the database, you will need to select the following options

Tables (all except ignore list)

Disable foreign key checks
Dump table

With this, you will get two files in the output- structure of the database and the data from
within the database. To ensure local installation, you need to install the structure and then
the data of the database.

Conclusion
Sometimes, you dont need the whole database, especially when working with small
projects. There will be many functions and elements within a database that you can safely
ignore. Try tweaking your database structure before downloading the data.
Author Bio:
Deepa is an online writer who writes for magento blogs. She recommends checking out
Magento Development Company UK at https://www.silvertouchtech.co.uk in case if
you are looking for high quality and reliable Magento Development Services at an
affordable price.