Coauthoring Engine for Real-Time Document Edit Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Coauthoring document editing systems face challenges in real-time sharing of changes due to variations in how different systems handle coauthoring and the complexity of changes, which can lead to corruption of the document backing store or mis-display of changes.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that allows real-time updates only when changes are safe, freezing sections for unsafe changes, and using a coauthoring engine to analyze high and low-level activities to determine safety, with status indicators to manage concurrent editing and reduce network traffic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If real-time updates are implemented for all changes, then user experience and collaboration efficiency are improved, but document backing store corruption and mis-display of changes may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the state parameter of document sections from 'unfrozen' to 'frozen' based on the safety assessment of incoming changes. When a change is deemed unsafe, the section transitions to a frozen state, preventing real-time updates and protecting document integrity. This parameter-based state management resolves the contradiction by dynamically adjusting update behavior based on change characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary safety analysis mechanism that sits between the real-time update transmission and the document backing store. This intermediary analyzes both high-level activities (overall change intent) and low-level activities (specific modification operations) to determine whether a change is safe. By inserting this intermediary layer, the system can filter unsafe changes before they corrupt the document, thus maintaining both real-time collaboration efficiency and document integrity.
2Speed
If real-time updates are transmitted for complex changes, then collaboration responsiveness is improved, but network traffic increases and system reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the update transmission parameter based on change complexity and safety assessment. For unsafe or complex changes, the system switches from real-time transmission to selected-time transmission, reducing network traffic while maintaining collaboration responsiveness for safe changes. This parameter-based control resolves the contradiction by adaptively adjusting transmission timing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial real-time updates by selectively updating only the portions of the document that contain safe changes, while suspending real-time updates for sections with unsafe changes. This partial action approach maintains collaboration responsiveness for safe modifications without transmitting unnecessary real-time update signals for complex changes, thus reducing network traffic while preserving responsiveness where applicable.
3Reliability
If all sections of the document are frozen for unsafe changes, then document integrity is maintained, but concurrent editing capability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the document into multiple independent sections, each with its own frozen/unfrozen state. When an unsafe change occurs in one section, only that specific section is frozen while other sections remain editable in real-time. This segmentation approach maintains document integrity for the affected section while preserving concurrent editing capability in unaffected sections, resolving the contradiction between reliability and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different update modes to different sections of the document based on local change characteristics. Sections with unsafe changes are frozen to maintain integrity, while sections with safe changes continue to accept real-time updates. This local quality differentiation ensures that document integrity is maintained where needed without unnecessarily restricting concurrent editing capability in other areas.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for enabling the real-time sharing of document edits are disclosed herein. Documents being edited may use backing stores that are not originally compatible to share edits in a coauthoring environment and thus require additional attention before coauthoring edits can be shared in real-time. The systems and methods described may provide for the analysis of high level functions within the document editor to determine the underlying activities. Both the high level functions and underlying activities may be analyzed to determine whether it is safe to implement the changes they represent in real-time on an endpoint. When it is determined that the changes are safe to implement, the changes will be implemented and further real-time edits will be shared. When it is determined that the edits are not safe to implement, real-time updates will be suspended until the next selected-time update, at which time real-time sharing will recommence.