750 points by distributed_system_fan 2 years ago flag hide 24 comments
john_doe 2 years ago next
Great article! I've always been fascinated by CRDTs and the idea of a real-time collaborative text editor is really cool. I'm definitely going to give this a try in my next project.
mrs_knowitall 2 years ago next
CRDTs are definitely an interesting and powerful concept! I think there's a lot of potential for them beyond just text editors. I'm curious how this project handles latency and syncing between multiple users. Would you mind explaining a bit about that?
john_doe 2 years ago next
Sure thing! One approach I've found to work well is using a vector clock to track the order of operations, and using a
ghost_in_the_machine 2 years ago prev next
@mrs_knowitall, I can answer that! I wrote a similar project a few months ago, and the main challenge was indeed keeping everything in sync. I found that using a combination of long-polling and a datastructure called an operational transformation helped a lot. I highly recommend checking it out!
black_hole_sun 2 years ago prev next
I can't even begin to comprehend the complexity of building something like this. Kudos to you for even attempting this!
code_monkey 2 years ago prev next
I'm also interested in building something like this, but I really don't know where to start. Could you point me in the direction of some good resources or libraries for CRDTs and real-time collaboration?
john_doe 2 years ago next
Sure thing! I'd recommend checking out some of the libraries I've used in my project, such as Yjs and CRDT.js. There's also a lot of good resources out there, like this blog post series on CRDTs: <https://www.metabroadcast.com/blog/crdts-in-practice-monotonic-counter>
the_renegade 2 years ago prev next
I think this is a really cool project, but wouldn't it be easier to just use a 3rd party service like Google Docs or Firepad? They already handle a lot of the complexities of real-time collaboration and CRDTs
john_doe 2 years ago next
Using a 3rd party service definitely has its advantages, but I personally prefer having more control and customizability over the project. Plus, I find it more rewarding to build it myself :)
green_eggs 2 years ago prev next
I think this is a really cool and innovative project. Do you have any plans to add support for other types of media or formatting, like images and font styling?
john_doe 2 years ago next
Definitely a possibility for the future! I wanted to keep the project scope small and focused on the core functionality for this initial release, but I can definitely see adding support for other types of media and formatting down the line.
hama_da_tesoura 2 years ago prev next
I'm really impressed with how smoothly the real-time collaboration works in this project. I've used other real-time collaborative editors in the past, and they often have a lot of conflicts and backtracking. What was your strategy for avoiding these issues?
john_doe 2 years ago next
Avoiding conflicts is definitely a key challenge with real-time collaboration. In this project, I used a CRDT variant called a
john_doe 2 years ago next
That's exactly it! CRDTs allow you to track the order of operations and merge differences seamlessly. I found it to be a much more elegant and reliable solution than traditional lock-based systems.
mr_robot 2 years ago prev next
@hama_da_tesoura, I had a similar experience with other real-time collaborative editors. I once lost a full day's work due to a conflict with another user. That's what drew me to CRDTs and this project in the first place.
the_matrix 2 years ago prev next
I think this is a really fascinating project. I've always been interested in the idea of CRDTs, but I've never actually seen a real-world implementation of one. I'm definitely going to check out your code and see how you've implemented it.
john_doe 2 years ago next
Feel free to check out the code and give me any feedback or suggestions you have! I'm always looking to improve my projects and learn from others.
terminator_x 2 years ago prev next
Building something like this is definitely no small feat, and I commend you for taking on the challenge. Do you have any plans to scale this and support larger numbers of users and operations?
john_doe 2 years ago next
Scalability is definitely a concern, and I'll have to do some testing to see how well this project handles larger loads. For now, I'm mainly focused on getting the core functionality working smoothly and reliably. But I don't see any reason why this project couldn't be scaled with the right infrastructure and architectural decisions.
hack_the_planet 2 years ago prev next
I've been playing around with this project for the past few hours, and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed. The real-time collaboration is seamless and the overall user experience is really smooth. Great job!
john_doe 2 years ago next
Thank you so much for the kind words and for trying out the project! I'm glad you're finding it enjoyable and functional. There's always room for improvement, so I appreciate any feedback you have.
code_bender 2 years ago prev next
I'd definitely be interested in contributing to this project, as I think it has a lot of potential. I'm mainly a front-end developer, but I have some experience with CRDTs and real-time collaboration. Would you be open to taking pull requests?
john_doe 2 years ago next
Absolutely, I'd be honored to have your contributions to this project! I'm always looking to improve and add new features, and any help would be greatly appreciated.
code_maestro 2 years ago prev next
I'm also a fan of CRDTs and real-time collaboration, and I think this is a great project. I'm interested in learning more about the specific implementation you used and the challenges you faced. Do you have any resources or references to recommend?