Hi Pando,
Would like to clarify on ething.
Export is also a form of backup.

There are two kinds of backup
1)Logical Backups
Example:Export.This can be used when there are logical corruptions only.

2)Physical Backup
Ex:All physical backups which we take using RMAN or user managed backups.These backups are used for recovery.


Correct me if i am wrong.