Supporting Adaptable Consistency Control in Structured Collaborative Workspaces

Abstract

Consistency control is a critical issue in collaborative systems. Supporting flexible consistency control in particular matches the dynamic and situated needs of cooperative work. However, previous approaches generally provide only limited flexibility due to their static binding between shared data objects and consistency control protocols. We propose a component-based framework that allows for the runtime plug-n-play of consistency protocols in collaborative systems. We model data and protocols in a way such that they are cleanly separated and can be dynamically bound at run time to achieve flexible control. Data-protocol bindings can happen at the property, object, and workspace levels. The framework provides reusable services for implementing adaptable consistency control in a range of collaborative workspace applications.