A Survey of Concurrency Control Algorithms in Collaborative Applications

Abstract

Collaborative applications are becoming more prevalent for a variety of reasons, most important of which is the increased interest in remote work. In addition to adapting the business processes to a remote setting, designers of collaborative software have to decide on how their software can be used collaboratively. This paper discusses the two main technologies used to enable network-based real- or near-real-time collaborative software, namely Operational Transformation and Conflict-free Replicated Data Types. Recent developments in each technology are discussed, as well as a brief overview of their theoretical underpinnings.