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Tangential, but this is one of the many things that excites me about CRDTs. By using CvRDTs for data fields, you can define completely open and fairly arbitrary
by archagon 8y ago
Tangential, but this is one of the many things that excites me about CRDTs. By using CvRDTs for data fields, you can define completely open and fairly arbitrary document formats that support real-time collaboration out of the box. The same document could be simultaneously edited by multiple apps and devices (online or offline) without ever having to ask the user to manually pick a revision or merge changes. This means that instead of relying on bloated, all-in-one programs for document editing that invariably centralize data and satisfy no one, you could run a suite of precisely-targeted micro-apps—drawing palates, text editors, color pickers, typesetters—that all collaborate on the same document.
I know it's been tried before (OpenDoc, if my understanding is correct?), but CRDTs weren't around back then. This could be the one technical advancement to finally make the system work!
(I've written a long article about this recently, but I'm working on a revision before making another post on HN: http://archagon.net/blog/2018/03/24/data-laced-with-history/ http://archagon.net/blog/2018/03/24/data-laced-with-history/)
- teddyh 8y agoI had to scroll quite a few paragraphs into your article before you even explain what CRDT stands for. For the curious, it’s “Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types”¹. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict-free_replicated_data_type https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict-free_replicated_data_...
- archagon 8y agoYes, it's explained in this section[1], but I do recommend skimming the full Wikipedia article. (To clarify, I don't get into CRDTs right off the bat. It simply turns out to be the best solution to my sync problem, which is described in the first section.) [1]: http://archagon.net/blog/2018/03/24/data-laced-with-history/#conflict-free-replicated-data-types http://archagon.net/blog/2018/03/24/data-laced-with-history/...
- teddyh 8y agoYes, but since you use the abbreviation “CRDT” in the title, you’d think you could explain it a bit sooner.
- archagon 8y agoI think I'd find it difficult to wedge into that first section, but perhaps I'll add a link in the first parenthetical paragraph.
- nine_k 8y agoIf I see a word unknown to me used prominently in an article, I assume that the article is for those already knowing its meaning, and go google it.