title: Backup MySQL database
body: <p>I have a MySQL Database of about 1.7GB. I usually back it up using mysqldump and this takes about 2 minutes. However, I would like to know the answers to the following questions:</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li><p>Does mysqldump block read and/or write operations to the database? Because in a live scenario, I would not want to block users from using the database while it is being backed up.</p></li>
  <li><p>It would be ideal for me to only backup the WHOLE database once in, say, a week, but in the intermediate days only one table needs to be backed up as the others won't change. Is there a way to achieve this?</p></li>
  <li><p>Is mysqlhotcopy a better alternative for these purposes?</p></li>
  </ol>