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1 This file defines the "sync API", an interface to the syncer | |
2 backend that exposes (1) the core functionality of maintaining a consistent | |
3 local snapshot of a hierarchical object set; (2) a means to transactionally | |
4 access and modify those objects; (3) a means to control client/server | |
5 synchronization tasks, namely: pushing local object modifications to a | |
6 server, pulling nonlocal object modifications from a server to this client, | |
7 and resolving conflicts that may arise between the two; and (4) an | |
8 abstraction of some external functionality that is to be provided by the | |
9 host environment. | |
10 | |
11 This interface is used as the entry point into the syncer backend | |
12 when the backend is compiled as a library and embedded in another | |
13 application. A goal for this interface layer is to depend on very few | |
14 external types, so that an application can use the sync backend | |
15 without introducing a dependency on specific types. A non-goal is to | |
16 have binary compatibility across versions or compilers; this allows the | |
17 interface to use C++ classes. An application wishing to use the sync API | |
18 should ideally compile the syncer backend and this API as part of the | |
19 application's own build, to avoid e.g. mismatches in calling convention, | |
20 structure padding, or name mangling that could arise if there were a | |
21 compiler mismatch. | |
22 | |
23 The schema of the objects in the sync domain is based on the model, which | |
24 is essentially a hierarchy of items and folders similar to a filesystem, | |
25 but with a few important differences. The sync API contains fields | |
26 such as URL to easily allow the embedding application to store web | |
27 browser bookmarks. Also, the sync API allows duplicate titles in a parent. | |
28 Consequently, it does not support looking up an object by title | |
29 and parent, since such a lookup is not uniquely determined. Lastly, | |
30 unlike a filesystem model, objects in the Sync API model have a strict | |
31 ordering within a parent; the position is manipulable by callers, and | |
32 children of a node can be enumerated in the order of their position. | |
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