Normalization of edit sequences for text synchronization

Rafael C. Carrasco; Alexander Sánchez Díaz

RAIRO - Theoretical Informatics and Applications (2011)

  • Volume: 45, Issue: 2, page 235-248
  • ISSN: 0988-3754

Abstract

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It often occurs that local copies of a text are modified by users but that the local modifications are not synchronized (thus allowing the merged text to become the source for later editions) until later when, for instance the network connection is reestablished. Since text editions usually affect a small fraction of the whole content, the history of edit operations provides a compact representation of the modified file. In this paper, we define a normal form for these records which will permit for the comparison of all text files that have been obtained by editing a common source S when the difference between each output file Oi and the source file is given as a sequence Li of edit operations. We show that the normalized sequence is unique for all the equivalent text editions and provide efficient procedures with which to compute this normal form and to obtain the edit sequence LM transforming S into a merged file M which integrates all the local modifications. We also discuss how these normalization can be integrated into the operational transformation paradigm for optimistic replication.

How to cite

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Carrasco, Rafael C., and Sánchez Díaz, Alexander. "Normalization of edit sequences for text synchronization." RAIRO - Theoretical Informatics and Applications 45.2 (2011): 235-248. <http://eudml.org/doc/276340>.

@article{Carrasco2011,
abstract = { It often occurs that local copies of a text are modified by users but that the local modifications are not synchronized (thus allowing the merged text to become the source for later editions) until later when, for instance the network connection is reestablished. Since text editions usually affect a small fraction of the whole content, the history of edit operations provides a compact representation of the modified file. In this paper, we define a normal form for these records which will permit for the comparison of all text files that have been obtained by editing a common source S when the difference between each output file Oi and the source file is given as a sequence Li of edit operations. We show that the normalized sequence is unique for all the equivalent text editions and provide efficient procedures with which to compute this normal form and to obtain the edit sequence LM transforming S into a merged file M which integrates all the local modifications. We also discuss how these normalization can be integrated into the operational transformation paradigm for optimistic replication. },
author = {Carrasco, Rafael C., Sánchez Díaz, Alexander},
journal = {RAIRO - Theoretical Informatics and Applications},
keywords = {Edit distance; text synchronization; reconciliation of replicas; edit distance},
language = {eng},
month = {6},
number = {2},
pages = {235-248},
publisher = {EDP Sciences},
title = {Normalization of edit sequences for text synchronization},
url = {http://eudml.org/doc/276340},
volume = {45},
year = {2011},
}

TY - JOUR
AU - Carrasco, Rafael C.
AU - Sánchez Díaz, Alexander
TI - Normalization of edit sequences for text synchronization
JO - RAIRO - Theoretical Informatics and Applications
DA - 2011/6//
PB - EDP Sciences
VL - 45
IS - 2
SP - 235
EP - 248
AB - It often occurs that local copies of a text are modified by users but that the local modifications are not synchronized (thus allowing the merged text to become the source for later editions) until later when, for instance the network connection is reestablished. Since text editions usually affect a small fraction of the whole content, the history of edit operations provides a compact representation of the modified file. In this paper, we define a normal form for these records which will permit for the comparison of all text files that have been obtained by editing a common source S when the difference between each output file Oi and the source file is given as a sequence Li of edit operations. We show that the normalized sequence is unique for all the equivalent text editions and provide efficient procedures with which to compute this normal form and to obtain the edit sequence LM transforming S into a merged file M which integrates all the local modifications. We also discuss how these normalization can be integrated into the operational transformation paradigm for optimistic replication.
LA - eng
KW - Edit distance; text synchronization; reconciliation of replicas; edit distance
UR - http://eudml.org/doc/276340
ER -

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