State and why sync is dumb

Slide 1: State and why syncing is dumb

Slide 2: About me • Tom Hughes-Croucher • http://kid666.com/blog • Day job as a Web Developer at Yahoo! • Secret Mobile jock

Slide 3: State of a presentation • Idea • Questions • Open discussion

Slide 4: State (of mind) • Sync is about moving data • State is about continuity • State is transient • State normally only matters for a short amount time

Slide 5: How do I get there?

Slide 6: How do I get there?

Slide 7: Where is the state? • Both computer and mobile have map clients • Both map clients know the location of 45 Foubert Place • When I grab my phone and leave my desk I don’t want to repeat the same action

Slide 8: State, State, Revolution

Slide 9: State, State, Revolution

Slide 10: Where is the state? • iTunes and the mobile device both understand playlists • iTunes may have the same tracks as the mobile (increasingly likely) • When I grab my phone and leave my desk I want the sound track to my life to follow

Slide 11: Adding state to sync • Two kinds of sync • Data sync • e.g Calendar, Todo list, Music Tracks, etc • State sync • Quick update of ‘where am I’

Slide 12: Discussion • Some open questions • Should devices automatically ‘carry on’ tasks • Should all shared applications pass state? • Should state timeout?