Avoiding Conflict
Some thinking about collabortive software and CRDTs
I’ve been using PouchDB for offline-first data sync workflows, and am really excited about Automerge and PitterPatter for realtime multiplayer applications.
I’ve also used Yjs and Operational Transforms in the past, but like them less than the above choices. One thing that’s work noting is that PouchDB isn’t a CRDT. A CRDT is all about being “Conflict Free”. Pouch takes the philisophical approach that conflicts are okay, and provides tooling for conflict resolution. In this way, it’s much more like git than Google Docs. While the impulse for collaborative applications to use OT or CRDT is immediate, give the following resources a read and spend some time with the question of “Conflict Resolution” before comitting one way or the other.
- You don’t need CRDTs for collaborative experiences
- Lies I was Told About Collaborative Editing, Part 1
- Lies I was Told About Collaborative Editing, Part 2
You might find that conflict can be healthy, and practicing methods of resolving conflict can make for a healthier system.