Sync Polish - 2.3.A - .u1conflict files need to be synchronised

[John Lea]

.u1conflict files need to be synchronised.

Currently when a conflict occurs the computer which initiated the sync stores both the original file and the conflicting file. The conflicting file has ".u1conflict" appended to the end of it's file name. However the .u1conflict file is not synced to the second computer where the conflicting file originated from.

Solution: sync the ".u1conflict" files so that the conflict can be resolved from any computer.

http://use-case-mapper.canonical.com/specifications/0AU5sFuLRpCpBZGZra2pqY2pfMjY1ZjRodG5nZDg/use_cases/2_3_A/steps/2_c_2

[John O'Brien (jdobrien)]

I am marking this as Won't Fix, but it should probably Won't Fix 'this way'.

While we do need to find a better way to resolve conflicts, distributing the problem won't solve it.

When a conflict occurs it is because the original file on that local computer has a problem so the user can't resolve the problem from any computer. It is also quite possible that multiple computers end up with different conflicts for the same file. If it is synced, it would be a disaster and possible recursive.

[John Lea (johnlea)]

Agreed.

The current functionality is very problematic because:
- it doesn't proactively alert the user the conflicts, allowing conflicts to build up
- places the user is a weird state where some of the items in their synced folders are not synced. Can get very weird when syncing more than two computers.
- doesn't allow the user to resolve all their conflicts from a single computer.
- doesn't provide a mechanism to quickly and easily resolve conflicts.

The lack of uniformity in which files are synced to which computer is especially worrying. Extracting one's self from a three way conflict situation with computers in different locations would be very difficult.

But equally the concerns pointed out in the comment above are equally valid...

Also agreed we need to solve these problems properly. Role on the next cycle ;-) As a starting point for what the de-conflict functionality should look like see use case 2.11.Z in the file sync spec:

http://use-case-mapper.canonical.com/specifications/0AU5sFuLRpCpBZGZra2pqY2pfMjY1ZjRodG5nZDg/use_cases/2_11_Z