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---
title: sync with text files
date: 2010-11-12
layout: post
category: log
---
One of the advantages of Unix applications and services are the OS
configuration files. Most of them are flat text files. A portable
solution for any synchronization task.
Storing Data in text files is a unique style originated by the Unix
philosophy. Those familiar with this can always recall the Unix motto:
"In Unix everything is a file."
To emphasize on this, here are several principles of the Unix
Philosophy:
1. /Small is beautiful./
2. /Write programs to handle text streams./
3. /Choose portability over efficiency./
4. /Store data in flat text files./
In comparison with other bulky encoded solutions to store Data, there
is always a medium or an interpreter in the process to obtain a
readable output, for this text files are an open, manegable, lean, and
light solution.
With the emerging scene of gadgets, specially smart-phones, people in
the IT and Design industry moved to a complex handle of notes,
contacts, and files. The need to sync between devices became eminent.
However, this imploded into a mess of different encodings and file
schemes. Users went back to a minimalist handle of files. Then came
the services like [[https://www.dropbox.com/][Dropbox]] and [[http://www.simpletext.ws/][SimpleText.ws]], which became the main
topic of the IT blogosphere of that time. By now, there is a whole
market for backup and sync solutions, but the last mentioned have
maintained a notable position among the paid and the free services.
[[http://www.instapaper.com][Instapaper]] is the name of the new contender. In the same field, but
with different goal. Instapaper was made as a quick bookmark solution,
like storing a magazine article for reading later.
I use Dropbox on a daily basis, but I use SimpleText.ws for storing my
address book along with my calendar file. Instapaper was my handy tool
for the reading weekends, and became my new companion in traffic and
long trips.
On Dropbox:
- Config Files: =.bashrc= - =.vimrc= - =/etc/=
- Recent Code: files, scripts and snippets I haven't finished.
- Recent Images: Photos and graphics to be uploaded to my flickr account.
- School Work: Essays, research papers and other reports. Basically, homework.
On SimpleText.ws:
- Address Book: Phones, email address and contact information.
- Personal Finance Spreadsheet: Believe it or not, CSV files can be used as spreadsheets.
- Calendar File: With the use of [[http://search.cpan.org/~rfrankel/iCal-Parser-1.16/lib/iCal/Parser.pm][iCal::Parser]] and [[http://search.cpan.org/~rfrankel/iCal-Parser-HTML-1.07/lib/iCal/Parser/HTML.pm][iCal::Parser::HTML]], I can generate XML and HTML files of my calendar.
- Grocery List: Most important thing of the day.
- TODO: To-do list
Just to make a point, each service has it own purpose. On another
note, *never upload important information* like passwords list, your
savings spreadsheets and such. Always revise and review what is stored
in your sync service. Keep an eye on the export option that your
favorite applications use, look for a flat text file export.
A good example is the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument][.odt format]] from [[http://openoffice.org/][OpenOffice.org]]. .odt file
format like others share a common goal, to be edited by any text
editor.
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