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README: background, guarantees, value hashes, comparison with other approaches - #18

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williamstein merged 1 commit into
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docs/readme-design
Oct 2, 2026
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williamstein merged 1 commit into
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docs/readme-design

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Rewrites the design parts of the README:

  • Background: differential sync (~2013) → a linear sequence of patches ordered by one clock (edit history, but a late patch with an earlier time changed a version someone had already seen) → a DAG of patches like Mercurial → exact values, hashes and recorded merges (2026).
  • Conceptual model and guarantees: every version is reproducible, divergence is detected, history never depends on the merge algorithm. Replaces the outdated "newest common ancestor + replay" description.
  • Value hashes: a new section; the README did not mention them.
  • How Patchflow compares: a table covering differential sync, OT, CRDTs, Mercurial/git and Patchflow, plus strengths and honest trade-offs (intent inferred from diffs, every replica merges, cost with many concurrent writers, rich-text serialization).
  • Merges the two Status sections; sections reordered so the model comes before the implementation details.

Documentation only.

@williamstein
williamstein merged commit 584a856 into main Oct 2, 2026
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