nextcloud / nextcloud/text

Better terminology for database tables from NC 30 on

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enhancement
Dominant language
JavaScript
Stars
659
Forks
133
Avg merge
1d 20h
Merged PRs (30d)
110

Description

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
The current terminology, database structure and flow for sync have been inherited from the tiptap 1 sync mechanism. This is confusing.

Describe the solution you'd like

  • session -> connection: These are actually connections from one client to the server. They are temporary and when the client reconnects it gets a new connection.
  • document -> ydoc: This is actually the metadata for one ydoc evolving over time.
  • steps -> sync_messages: yjs messages to keep the ydoc in sync.

Using the same data formats for messages

  • Send one update message per request. (Generate it when sending the request).
  • Store one update message per database entry.
  • Send full document history as an update message including bits indicating its a sync update.
  • Store the full doc history in the messages table along other messages with a flag indicating its a full sync

Open questions

What do we do with awareness messages?

Describe alternatives you've considered

  • Keeping the names as they are - confusing
  • Creating new table and structure from scratch - I'd rather go incrementally - but might be worth a second thought.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

No files, tests, or entry points are named. Start by locating the existing sync database tables and message flow, then compare the proposed connection, ydoc, and sync_messages terminology and data-format changes; resolve the awareness-message question before defining completion.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
javascript
Domain
backend-api-design, databases
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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