Mesh synchronization of KML files through FeedSync
We’ve been working for the past few days on a mesh4x adapter that can synchronize a potentially big KML file at a very granular level (styles, placemarks, folders, etc.) so that you can collaboratively edit these large files without having to resolve spurious “conflicts”.
From Ed’s blog post:
This could be synchronized peer-to-peer (a KML on your disk to a KML on a USB drive or someone else’s box) as well as via a ‘cloud’ web service. Note this is changing the data inside the KML, it is not just ‘file sharing’. The adapter knows about KML and keeps track of versions of fine-grained elements (pushpins, placemarks, polygons) inside the same file. It is an example of how a data mesh could be used to synchronize fine-grained data between applications.
Update : Read more about the latest version (including single-file storage, KMZ support, etc.).
I believe this is one of the first instances of a mesh-style synchronization that really proves the point and possibilities of FeedSync and also Live Mesh. Something that Joel Spolsky clearly didn’t get.
This technology is going to change the way we think about applications, data ownership and sharing. It’s actually a pity that some people is focusing on the one * sample * application that Microsoft is showing (file/folder sharing) to evaluate it.
/kzu
/kzu dev↻d