Is the programmer of a database program responsible for database backups?

Question

Imagine you sell an application that stores its data in a Microsoft Sql Server database. Some customers are large companies with existing Sql installations and staff to maintain them. Other customers are small companies who get the SQLEXPRESS version installed by a setup program.

The database will soon contain a lot of important data and will need backing up. Whose responsibility is this?

Should the application contain a UI for backing up the database and warn when the backup has not been run?

Or should the application just include instructions for backup in its documentation?

Or is this a problem for the customers to solve and not the programmers?

Answer 1

In most cases I'd expect the customer to handle backups without involving the programmers. There is, of course, nothing wrong if the customer asks you as a programmer to build backup-reminders into the application.

In some cases where the customer has little or no understanding of the technology they are using I also think it is our responsibility as system developers to inform them of what they are expected to do in terms of maintenance.

Even with professional customers I fairly often specify minimum backup requirements in documentation, simply because you get what you ask for.

Answer 2

If you are building software that installs SQLExpress, then you should provide the backup functionality. By default, SQLExpress doesn't come with Management Studio, and I would consider it a major usability issue to install Management Studio as part of your app (or ask the customer to do so).

The BACKUP DATABASE command is simple to execute from your application. There's really no reason not to provide this functionality.

As for customers who have an IT staff, they can still handle the backups themselves using their existing process.

Everybody wins.