Collaborative text editing algorithms like OT and CRDTs have their limitations. However, Eg-walker, a new collaboration algorithm for text, addresses these weaknesses. It consumes less memory than existing CRDTs, loads documents faster, and merges long-running branches quickly. It can be used in peer-to-peer systems without a central server, offering performance comparable to centralized algorithms. This advancement opens the door to widespread adoption of peer-to-peer collaboration software.
https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.14252