...

In summary, if you are adding an acceptance test to the current suite, ensure that you look at an existing test in the no_db_unit category and see how the test data is setup & managed. Try & avoid loading your seed data from an XML dataset whenever possible.

Procedure for maintaining acceptance_test_dump.sql (DBUnit approach is deprecated and should not be used for new tests)

If you want to make changes to the dump by using the application
Import all data from the dump into the database.
Use the application to setup/change (only) the data you want.
Export the data using following command.
mysqldump -u <your_user> -p<your_password> <your_database> --complete-insert --extended-insert --skip-add-locks --skip-comments --skip-quote-names > ~/acceptance_test_dump.sql
When commiting changes commit acceptance_test_dump.sql file as well.

If you want to make changes to the dump manually
Edit acceptance_test_dump.sql
When commiting changes push acceptance_test_dump.sql file as well.