LiveTalk: A Framework for Collaborative Browser-Based Replicated-Computation Applications

In this paper we describe LiveTalk, a framework for Collaborative Browser-based Replicated-Computation applications. LiveTalk permits multiple users separated across the wide area to interact with separate copies of a single application, sharing a single virtual workspace, using very little network bandwidth. LiveTalk features an integrated, browser-based programming environment with native graphics and live evaluation, an integrated, pluggable web server, and a simple messaging service that serves to coordinate activity on shared application sessions, and provides for multiple, mutually-isolated sessions. The first use case for LiveTalk are collaborative big-data visualizations running on thin-client devices such as cellular phones, tablets, and netbooks. These applications form part of a new class of application where the distributed Cloud is leveraged to provide low latency, and high-bandwidth access to geographically disparate users while maintaining the feel of immediacy associated with local computation. The primary motivation of this work is to permit low latency, collaborative applications to be built quickly and easily, while requiring no setup for use by the end-user.