Synchronizing disributed online collaboration content

• US 8,762,327 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2007
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Red Hat, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Van Riel, Henri Han
• Primary Examiner(s): Boccio, Vincent F
• Assistant Examiner(s): WILLIS, AMANDA LYNN
• Application Number:
  US11/680,573
• Publication Number:
  US 20080208869A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,673 Days
• Field of Search: 717/122, 707/610, 707/616, 707809-811, 707/E17.032, 707/999.203, 707609-639, 707/999.003, 707/E17.005, 707/E17.013, 707/740, 707/769, 707/999.1, 707/999.103, 707/999.201, 707/723, 707/736, 707/737, 707/739, 707/749, 707/756, 707/794, 707/797, 707/808, 707/954, 707/955, 707/960, 707/999.001, 707/999.005, 707/999.006, 707/999.101, 707/999.107, 709/204, 709/203, 709/219, 709/201, 709/208, 709/224
• US Class Current: 707/610
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention provide a way to combing websites that can be edited over the Internet using distributed revision control. This also makes it possible to use writable web sites while not being connected to the Internet. In some embodiments, the present invention is applied to wikis. When a wiki reconnects, differences are automatically sent over and changes from other wikis are merged automatically. Wikis may also be synchronized on a periodic or event driven basis. Embodiments of the present invention may also be used for load balancing between wikis, or to share information with users who can only occasionally connect to the Internet.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first wiki, on a web server, to provide content through online collaboration by online users; and

at least one additional wiki to;

(a) identify a content having a tag comprising relevance associated with a category of the content;

(b) select the identified content to be shared having the relevance above a threshold,

(c) share the selected content to be edited through the online collaboration by the online users with the first wiki in view of a first level of sharing authority assigned to the first wiki and a second level of sharing authority assigned to the at least one additional wiki, wherein one of the first level or the second level of the sharing authority comprises sharing all of the selected content and other of the first level or the second level of the sharing authority comprises sharing portion of the selected content,

(d) edit the shared selected content through the online collaboration by the online users with the first wiki in view of a first priority assigned to one of the first wiki or the at least one additional wiki and a second priority assigned to one of the first wiki or the at least one additional wiki, wherein the first priority is in view of one of the first wiki or the additional wiki is intermittently accessed to a network and the second priority is in view of a number of editions received from one of the first wiki or the additional wiki,

(e) synchronize edited versions of the shared selected content between the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki, wherein at least one of the synchronized edited version of the shared selected content comprising conflicting changes and wherein the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki are to present the conflicting changes without resolution of the conflicting changes.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one additional wiki performs the synchronization when the at least one additional wiki connects to a network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first wiki to provide the at least one additional wiki with information that identifies selected user editable content to be shared with the first wiki.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first wiki to filter the shared user editable content from the at least one additional wiki.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the first wild and the at least one additional wiki to allow the conflicting changes for further editions without resolution of the conflicting changes.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the tag indicates the content desired to be shared by the first wiki with the additional wiki.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the relevance is assigned in view of one of type of the category or number of users that tag the content to the category.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least additional wiki to merge the edited shared selected content in view of a first merge priority assigned to one of the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki and a second merge priority assigned to one of the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki, wherein the first merge priority comprise one of the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki to accept all editions provided from other of the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki in the edited shared selected content, wherein the second merge priority comprise one of the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki to accept selected editions provided from the other of the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki in the edited shared selected content.

9. A method comprising:

(a) identifying a content having a tag comprising relevance associated with a category of the content;

(b) selecting the identified content to be shared having the relevance above a threshold;

(c) sharing the selected content to be edited through online collaboration by online users between a first wiki and at least one additional wiki in view of first level of sharing authority assigned to the first wiki and a second level of sharing authority assigned to the at least one additional wiki, wherein one of the first level or the second level of the sharing authority comprises sharing all of the selected content and other of the first level or the second level of the sharing authority comprises sharing portion of the selected content;

(d) editing the shared selected content through the online collaboration by the online users with the first wiki in view of a first priority assigned to one of the first wiki or the at least one additional wiki and a second priority assigned to one of the first wiki or the at least one additional wiki, wherein the first priority is in view of one of the first wiki or the additional wiki is intermittently accessed to a network and the second priority is in view of a number of editions received from one of the first wiki or the additional wiki, selected edition of the content from the other of the first and the at least one additional wiki;

(e) synchronizing edited version of the shared selected content between the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki wherein at least one of the synchronized edited version of the shared selected content comprising conflicting changes; and

(f) providing the conflicting changes without resolution of the conflicting changes.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein providing the synchronized version of the shared portion of content comprises:

marking the conflicting changes; and

displaying the conflicting changes together in a previously presented version with the markings.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

tracking changes, at the at least one additional wiki, to the shared portion of the content edited through the online collaboration on the at least one additional wiki in a corresponding edited version of the shared portion of editable content;

receiving, at the at least one additional wiki, an edited version of the shared portion of the content edited through the online collaboration, from the first wiki;

identifying, at the at least one additional wiki, changes in the received edited version of the shared portion of editable content that conflict with the corresponding tracked edited version of the shared portion editable content.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving a resolved edited version of the shared portion of editable content on the first wiki that resolves conflicts between the received edited version of the shared portion of editable content and the tracked edited version of the shared portion of editable content; and

providing to the first wiki a previously presented resolved synchronized version of the shared portion of editable content comprising the resolved conflicts.

13. The method of claim 11;

further comprising;

receiving a version of the shared portion of editable content that has been edited by a user; and

resolving the conflicting changes in the first wiki in view of the user edited version of the shared portion of editable content.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving a version of the shared portion of editable content that has been edited by a user;

comparing the received edited version of the shared portion of editable content to the synchronized version of the shared portion of editable content; and

providing a previously presented resolved synchronized version of the shared portion of editable content that resolves the conflicting changes in view of the comparison.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein the providing comprising providing, to the first wiki, from the at least one additional wiki, the synchronized version of the shared portion of editable content to replace the received shared portion of editable content that merges non-conflicting changes.

16. The method of claim 9 further comprising allowing the conflicting changes for further editions without resolution of the conflicting changes.

17. The method of claim 9 wherein the tag indicates the content desired to be shared by the first wiki with the additional wiki.

18. The method of claim 9 wherein the relevance is assigned in view of one of type of the category or number of users that tag the content to the category.

19. The method of claim 9 further comprising:

merging the edited shared selected content in view of a first merge priority assigned to one of the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki and a second merge priority assigned to one of the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki, wherein the first merge priority comprise one of the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki to accept all editions provided from other of the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki in the edited shared selected content, wherein the second merge priority comprise one of the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki to accept selected editions provided from the other of the first wiki and the at least one additional wiki in the edited shared selected content.