Pattern 47 / CONSENSUS
Use this when detecting causal ordering without a global clock.
Vector Clocks fits when detecting causal ordering without a global clock. Mechanism: each node maintains a vector of logical counters and compares vectors to find before/after/concurrent events. Use it for conflict detection, distributed databases, sync engines, and offline collaboration. The toll: metadata grows with node count and conflicts still need resolution policy.
Conflict detection, distributed databases, sync engines, and offline collaboration.
Two offline edits detected as concurrent and merged later.
Describe the pressure first, then the mechanism, then the cost. That keeps the design grounded.
Same pressure family