Supporting application-specific resolution in an optimistically replicated file system

We describe an interface to incorporate application-specific knowledge for conflict resolution in an optimistically replicated file system. Conflicts arise in such systems because replicas of an object can be modified simultaneously in different network partitions. Application-specific knowledge is made available by the application writer in specialized tools called Application-Specific Resolvers (or ASRS). The interface we describe here is used to bind ASRs to objects and to specify the conditions under which a specific ASR is invoked. This allows the system to make conflict resolution transparent to the user, thus improving the usability of optimistic replication