Etherpad

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Etherpad

Logo Etherpad.png
Basic data

developer Etherpad Foundation
Current  version 1.7.5
(01/26/2019)
operating system Server : Linux , Mac OS (Lite), Windows , Client : platform-independent (in the web browser )
programming language Scala and Java (Pro), JavaScript (Lite)
category Collaborative Writing , Portable Software
License Apache License 2.0, BSD License , LGPL and GPL ( Free Software )
German speaking Yes
etherpad.org

Etherpad is a web-based text editor for the collaborative editing of texts ( collaborative real-time editor ). With Etherpad, several people can edit a text document at the same time, and all changes are immediately visible to all participants. The changes made by the various editors can be differentiated by color. Another convenient function is the ability to chat in the editing window in addition to editing text .

The software was released in 2008. In December 2009 it was bought by Google Inc. and placed under an open source license. Etherpad is currently installed on some freely accessible servers in the network. The software development lies with the Etherpad Foundation.

A major reprogramming is the slimmer and faster Etherpad Lite .

Analogous to the Etherpad, there is also an EtherCalc as a collaborative spreadsheet .

Features and implementation

A new text document ('pad') can be created by anyone on an Etherpad server without any access restriction. Each text document has a fixed URL, whereby a cryptolink is assigned by default to create a pad, i.e. a URL that contains a longer random string of characters. You can only view and edit the pad and communicate via the associated chat if you know this URL . The employees are distinguished in the chat window by freely chosen names and in the text document by different colors. Password-protected pads are also possible in the original version.

The edited text is saved on the server at short intervals, and every author can explicitly save a certain editing status at any time. Each processing status for each point in time can be viewed fluently and usually without delay, down to the individual keystroke, using a timeline.

The document can be exported at any time as simple text, HTML , Word document (via AbiWord ), PDF , OpenDocument and, if necessary, in other formats and saved on your own computer. Copy & paste is also possible at any time.

Most public Etherpad servers are set up in such a way that nothing is deleted. This means that everything that is written is permanently available via the version history (timeline) for everyone who knows the URL of the pad in question.

Etherpad Lite is implemented in JavaScript . The real-time functionality is implemented via Comet, an Ajax programming technique. The Pro version is written in Java , JavaScript and Scala .

When it was first published, Etherpad was the first web application of its kind with real-time execution, which was previously only achieved with desktop programs such as Subethaedit ( Mac ), Gobby and MoonEdit (both platform-independent ). Other collaborative web editors only achieved approximately real-time capability.

Initial release

Etherpad was published on November 19, 2008 by David Greenspan and Google employees Aaron Iba and JD Zamfirescu. Later, the former Google employee and serial entrepreneur Daniel Clemens and the designer David Cole joined them. The original website was etherpad.com . Slashdot reported on Etherpad in November 2008, whereby the Slashdot effect was noticeable in the form of server overload. The developers then changed the software status to beta , whereby they no longer allowed the creation of new pads, but unrestricted access to existing documents. The server infrastructure was then upgraded. After the software was rewritten, it went back online in January 2009 and was freely accessible again in February.

Takeover by Google

When Google Wave was announced, the Etherpad team wrote about it on their blog and made comparisons between the two platforms, noting that the minimalist and purposeful Etherpad user interface could be beneficial in some cases. In December 2009, the takeover by Google for the purpose of integration into Google Wave was announced in the Etherpad blog. Previous Etherpad users would receive invitations for Google Wave. In March, Etherpad announced that it would allow new pads to be put on until April, while existing pads could be used until May. Export and download options were available. The service from Google was discontinued in May.

Open source

After a number of users expressed their dissatisfaction with the way it was adopted, as well as the incompatibility between Google Wave and the basic principles and features of Etherpad, the teams on both projects revoked their decision to stop the creation of new pads, promising the Etherpad code in To transfer Open Source and assured that the service would be maintained without restrictions until the transfer was completed. Google released the source code in December 2009 under the Apache license . Google then asked the Etherpad code maintainers to remove JSMin from the code. The reason was the license clause "The Software shall be used for Good, not Evil"; this is not compatible with Google's license requirements for open source. After the release as open source, several people set up Etherpad servers as clones of the original website. Soon after, after a founding meeting on the IRC channel #etherpad on Freenode , users and programmers called the Etherpad Foundation into being to further coordinate development.

The Etherpad Foundation website maintains a list of a growing number of websites that use Etherpad software.

Etherpad Lite

Etherpad Lite is a fundamentally new variant of Etherpad. The Lite version is based on Node.js , originally offered fewer functions, but also uses significantly less memory and is easier to set up. The conventional Etherpad offers z. B. passwords , programming interfaces and additional plugins and is more intended for larger installations, although the Lite version has now caught up in functionality.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Etherpad
  2. ↑ Michael Arrington : Etherpad Shows Google Docs How It's Done . TechCrunch . November 19, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  3. ^ John Resig : EtherPad: Real-time Editing with JavaScript . November 19, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  4. ^ Philip Lenssen: EtherPad . Google Blogoscoped . November 20, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  5. ↑ EtherPad: AppJet Company Overview ( Memento from January 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ^ A Web App For Real-Time Collaborative Writing . Slashdot . November 21, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  7. ↑ Etherpad homepage . EtherPad. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  8. ↑ Ryan Grove: Etherpad source includes JSMin, which Google Code doesn't allow . Wonko.com. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  9. ↑ Thomas Nybergh: Swedish Pirate Party hosts EtherPad. . Slashdot. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  10. ^ Founding meeting ( memento from July 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ https://github.com/ether/etherpad-lite