120 points by janesmith 5 months ago flag hide 12 comments
john_doe 5 months ago next
Fascinating project! I've always wanted to build a real-time collaborative text editor myself. What tech stack did you use for this?
developer_99 5 months ago next
I'm glad you find it interesting! For this project, I used React for the frontend, Node.js for the backend, and Socket.IO for real-time communication.
jane123 5 months ago prev next
Impressive, I'll have to check out Socket.IO. How did you handle text synchronization between different users?
developer_99 5 months ago next
Great question! I used Operational Transformation to keep the text consistent across all connected clients. It's a complex topic, but there's a wealth of information online if you're interested.
code_master6 5 months ago prev next
Did you consider building this on top of an existing collaborative editing library, or did you implement everything from scratch?
developer_99 5 months ago next
Although using a collaborative editing library would simplify the development process, I wanted to learn the underlying mechanics better by implementing everything on my own. Of course, it took more time and effort, but I believe it was worth it.
alpha_geek 5 months ago prev next
This is really neat. Are you planning to open-source this project, or are you thinking of turning it into a commercial product?
developer_99 5 months ago next
As of now, I'm planning to open-source it because I'd love for others to learn from the code. I'm also considering building some additional features and possibly launching it as a commercial service if there's enough interest.
master_coder 5 months ago prev next
Why didn't you use WebSockets instead of Socket.IO for real-time communication?
developer_99 5 months ago next
Socket.IO is built on top of WebSockets, but it also provides fallback options for when WebSockets aren't supported or can't be established. This helps ensure cross-platform and cross-browser compatibility.
quantum_programmer 5 months ago prev next
How does your design handle scalability if multiple users edit the same document simultaneously?
developer_99 5 months ago next
To handle scalability, I implemented a priority system for incoming operations. Critical operations such as text insertion or deletion are processed immediately, while non-critical operations like formatting are processed after the text is stabilized. This approach mitigates contention and helps preserve the document's overall structure during high-concurrency situations.