wp-db-backup patch

[skippy]

• wp-db-backup requires that /wp-content/ be writable, in order to create a backup destination directory that is not easily guessed. I strongly discourage /wp-content/ from being writable. Specific directories underneath can (and should) be writable.

• the error message supplied when /wp-content/ is not writable is not helpful:

  WARNING: Your wp-content directory is NOT writable! We can not create the backup directory.
  /home/skippy/public_html/wp
  

The display of ABSPATH is actively misleading. This is a more helpful message:

WARNING: Your /wp-content/backup/ directory is NOT writable! We cannot create the backup directory:
/home/skippy/public_html/wp/wp-content/backup/FOO

• The error message is repeated, which is less than useful.

The attached patch:

• revised WP_BACKUP_DIR to use /wp-content/backup/XXX
• displays the whole path in the error message
• and dies outright if the backup directory cannot be created so as to suppress multiple error messages.

We have always encouraged wp-content to be writable, unless you can give a compelling argument otherwise I don't see any reason to include the directory part of this patch.

The wiki page you refer to in your weblog post is misleading and should probably be updated.

 http://codex.wordpress.org/Hardening_WordPress#File_permissions

The error messages could still bear being more helpful, I'll see if I can roll in that part.

(In [3212]) Better error, fixes #1934

Milestone 2.0 deleted