Microsoft has published a beta release of its Fluid Framework 2.0, an upgrade to the company’s open source platform for building collaborative applications.
Unveiled January 8, the Fluid Framework 2.0 beta features an intuitive programming model for developers to synchronize shared state between clients in real time. General availability is planned for this summer. Fluid Framework, which debuted in 2019, was designed for developing low-latency applications that support real-time collaboration by offering developers easy-to-use data structures that the framework automatically syncs between clients.
Fluid Framework 2.0 can be used to add collaboration to new or existing apps, offering a schematized data model, called a SharedTree Distributed Data Structure (DDS), that provides an intuitive programming interface for working with data. It supports a range of data types including arrays, maps, and objects.
In addition to supporting Azure Fluid Relay, Fluid Framework 2.0 also supports SharePoint Embedded, a cloud-based document management system for collaborating on content stored inside a Microsoft 365 tenant. Fluid Framework has been powering first-party Microsoft apps and third-party apps, such as Microsoft Loop, Microsoft Whiteboard, and Hexagon Nexus.