Work / Software Engineering / Real-Time Collaborative Document Platform
Software Engineering · System Design
Real-Time Collaborative Document Platform
A collaborative document system designed around multiple users editing shared text in real time while preserving document state across sessions.
Section
Software Engineering
Stack
WebSockets · PostgreSQL · Real-Time Systems · Distributed Systems
Category
Software Engineering · System Design
Status
Architecture / portfolio implementation
01 — Challenge
The core engineering challenge
Collaborative editing requires low-latency propagation without losing a durable representation of document state when clients disconnect or refresh.
03 — Decisions
Engineering decisions and what they cost
01Use WebSockets for real-time edit propagation rather than polling.
02Keep persistence separate from the real-time transport path so durable state and live events have distinct responsibilities.
03Model editing around operations and state transitions so concurrency strategies can evolve independently of transport.
04 — Stack
WebSocketsPostgreSQLReal-Time SystemsDistributed SystemsSystem Design