it works on large database(gigabytes) and very flexible.

backup command:
mysqldump -h localhost -u mydbusername -p mydbname >mydbbackupfile_dateoftoday.sql

restore command:
mysql -u mydbusername -p mydbtarget < mydbbackupfile_dateoftoday.sql

example:
backup command:
mysqldump -u root -p db1 >db1_bak_20050703.sql

restore command:
mysql -u root -p db1 < db1_bak_20050703.sql