Toward interoperable data synchronization with COSMOS

COSMOS (Co-Operative State Machines for Object Synchronization) is a method for specifying the behavior of a synchronizable data store by modeling the data store as a state machine. Such a model can be used to define a standard for interoperable data synchronization systems, defining the sequence of messages sent and received during synchronization without constraining the implementation of a conforming system. COSMOS models can be collected, studied and categorized, allowing a synchronization scheme with the properties appropriate for a given application to be selected from a catalog. Alternatively, for pre-existing synchronization systems built without a common standard, COSMOS models can serve as a specification for an adapter allowing the systems to interoperate.