Operational Transformation library?

Question

I'm looking for a library that would allow me to synchronize text in real-time between multiple users (ala Google Docs).

I've stumbled upon Operational Transformation, which seems to fit my needs. Having said that, I understand the gist of OT, but not the math nor implementation of OT.

Thus, I was wondering if there was a drag'n'drop Javascript library that would hook into a text area, generate the transforms, then allow me to apply those transformations onto another client?

(I've gotten the Etherpad source, but I can't make head or tails out of it. If anyone could point out how to leverage on Etherpad's OT implementation, that'll be great too!)

Answer 1

I think that parts of Google Wave's OT implementation are Open Source (and more parts are coming).

I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for, but an alternative to OT is Differential Synchronization:

• Google-Diff-Match-Patch - Diff, Match and Patch libraries for Plain Text: "The Diff Match and Patch libraries offer robust algorithms to perform the operations required for synchronizing plain text."
• Google-MobWrite - Real-time Synchronization and Collaboration Service: "MobWrite converts forms and web applications into collaborative environments. Create a simple single-user system, add one line of JavaScript, and instantly get a collaborative system." (Uses Google-Diff-Match-Patch.)

Answer 2

One of the ex-Wave engineers has released a Coffeescript implementation of its collaborative editing algorithm called ShareJS, now named ShareDB.