Differential synchronization

TL;DR: Differential Synchronization is described, which uses deltas to make efficient use of bandwidth, and is fault-tolerant, allowing copies to converge in spite of occasional errors.

Abstract: This paper describes the Differential Synchronization (DS) method for keeping documents synchronized. The key feature of DS is that it is simple and well suited for use in both novel and existing state-based applications without requiring application redesign. DS uses deltas to make efficient use of bandwidth, and is fault-tolerant, allowing copies to converge in spite of occasional errors. We consider practical implementation of DS and describe some techniques to improve its performance in a browser environment.