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However, only version control and file synchronization tools can deal with modifications to more than one copy of the files.
BETTER THAN SYNKRON OS X SOFTWARE
File synchronization is useful for mobile workers, or others that work on multiple computers.Īlthough it is possible to synchronize directories manually, using a software tool is both faster and less error prone.įile synchronization tools are similar to Version Control tools ( CVS, Subversion, etc.), distributed filesystems ( Coda, etc.), and mirroring utilities ( rsync, etc.), in that all these attempt to keep sets of files synchronized. In other words, when two locations are synchronized, the most current version of a file is available at both locations, regardless of where it was last modified. The term synchronization is used in this article to mean exclusively two-way synchronization, in contrast with 'mirroring'.įile synchronization maintains the same version of files on multiple locations, normally directories on a computer or removable storage devices such as USB flash drives.
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In two-way sync, files are copied in both directions, keeping the two locations in sync with each other. In a one-way sync, also called mirroring, files are copied only from a 'source' location to a 'target' location, or locations, but no files are copied back to the source location. If you add, change, or delete a file from one location, the synchronization process will add, change, or delete the same file at the other location.įile synchronization may be one-way or two-way. ( Discuss)įile synchronization (or 'synching' or 'syncing') in computing is the process of making sure that two or more locations contain the same up-to-date files. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Data synchronization.
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