--- /dev/null
+ Backup Format Description
+ for an LFS-Inspired Backup Solution
+
+NOTE: This is simply a proposal at this point in time, and not yet
+implemented. Details are subject to change.
+
+========================================================================
+
+Goals: To provide a stable and extensible data storage format for
+efficient remote filesystem backups. Among the features desired in the
+format are:
+ - Support for grouping unchanging file contents together, and reusing
+ it for future backups.
+ - Nonetheless allow old backups to be deleted (at least those parts
+ that are not also used by newer backups).
+ - Support some form of rdiff-style incremental differences within a
+ file.
+The current plan is to implement compression and encryption separately:
+not as part of the base format, but simply by passing the backup data
+through filters such as bzip2 or gpg.
+
+Data is organized into a collection of _objects_, which are grouped
+together for storage purposes into _segments_. Objects may refer to
+other objects; a snapshot consists of a tree object which in turn refers
+to other objects containing file data. A new snapshot may be created
+which refers to some of the old objects with file data, if those files
+have not changed.