An edit conflict is a computer problem that may occur when multiple editors edit the same
file and cannot merge without losing part of their edits.
Description
The conflict occurs when an editor gets a copy of a shared document file, changes the copy, and attempts to save the changes to the original file, which has been altered by another editor after the copy was obtained.
Resolution
The simplest way to resolve an edit conflict is to ignore intervening edits and overwrite the current file. This may lead to a substantial loss of information, and alternative methods are often employed to resolve or prevent conflicts.
* Manual resolution, where the editor determines which version to retain and may manually incorporate edits into the current version of the file.
* Store
backup
In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", w ...
s or
file comparison
In computing, file comparison is the calculation and display of the differences and similarities between data objects, typically text files such as source code.
The methods, implementations, and results are typically called a diff, after the Un ...
s of each edit, so there are the previous versions of the file can still be accessed once the original is overwritten.
*
File locking
File locking is a mechanism that restricts access to a computer file, or to a region of a file, by allowing only one user or process to modify or delete it at a specific time and to prevent reading of the file while it's being modified or deleted ...
, which limits the file to one editor at a time to prevent edit conflicts. Computer writer Gary B. Shelly notes that many
wiki systems "will block the contributor who is attempting to edit the page from being able to do so until the contributor currently editing the page saves changes or remains idle on the page for an extended period of time."
*
Merge
Merge, merging, or merger may refer to:
Concepts
* Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road
* Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program
* Merger (politics), the com ...
, by determining if the edits are in unrelated parts of the file and combining without user intervention.
Occurrences
The problem is encountered on heavily edited articles in
wikis (frequency higher in articles related to a current event or person),
distributed data systems (e.g.,
Google Sites
Google Sites is a structured wiki and web page creation tool included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google. The service also includes Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Drawings, Google Form ...
), and
revision control systems not using
file locking
File locking is a mechanism that restricts access to a computer file, or to a region of a file, by allowing only one user or process to modify or delete it at a specific time and to prevent reading of the file while it's being modified or deleted ...
,
[Michael Antonovich (2010).
]
''Office and SharePoint 2010 User's Guide: Integrating SharePoint''
p. 321 (752 pages), quote: "Edit conflict on a list linked to SharePoint".
as well as other high-traffic pages.
If a significant amount of new text is involved, the editor who receives an "edit conflict" error message can
cut and paste
In human–computer interaction and user interface design, cut, copy, and paste are related commands that offer an interprocess communication technique for transferring data through a computer's user interface. The ''cut'' command removes the ...
the new text into a word processor or similar program for further editing, or can paste that text directly into a newer version of the target document. Simple
copyediting
Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material ( copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual o ...
can be done directly on the newer version, and then saved.
See also
*
Concurrent Versions System
Concurrent Versions System (CVS, also known as the Concurrent Versioning System) is a revision control system originally developed by Dick Grune in July 1986.
CVS operates as a front end to RCS, an earlier system which operates on single fil ...
*
Apache Subversion
Apache Subversion (often abbreviated SVN, after its command name ''svn'') is a software versioning and revision control system distributed as open source under the Apache License. Software developers use Subversion to maintain current and histo ...
*
Git (software)
References
{{reflist
Wiki concepts
Version control
Distributed computing problems