3.6.x compatibility with jupyter-collaboration

[dlqqq]

Problem

cc @hbcarlos @davidbrochart

Some users require JupyterLab 3.6.x and have noticed issues with the RTC feature at scale and at higher network latencies, which are frequently encountered in production. I am willing to submit fixes for these issues, but JupyterLab 3.6.x depends on jupyter_server_ydoc, which has been untouched since March 2023.

I would like to know 1) whether jupyter_server_ydoc is still officially supported, and 2) whether any versions of jupyter-collaboration are compatible with JupyterLab 3.6.x.

Proposed Solution

Document this in the jupyter-collaboration README.

If jupyter_server_ydoc is deprecated, then it seems like jupyter-collaboration compatibility should be backported to JupyterLab 3.6.x, as 3.6.x is still officially supported as far as I am aware.

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[davidbrochart]

1. whether jupyter_server_ydoc is still officially supported

jupyter_server_ydoc redirects to jupyter-collaboration. The repo was renamed and includes the TypeScript JupyterLab frontend code. Since there is no separate GitHub repo for jupyter_server_ydoc, I don't see how we can support it.

2. whether any versions of jupyter-collaboration are compatible with JupyterLab 3.6.x.

I don't think so, but I will let @fcollonval confirm.

[dlqqq]

@davidbrochart Thanks for the prompt reply!

I believe our current support strategy is to support old major releases for one year. This means that we should still maintain some path to maintaining all RTC packages in JL 3.x (including jupyter_server_ydoc) until May 2024.

The repo was renamed and includes the TypeScript JupyterLab frontend code. Since there is no separate GitHub repo for jupyter_server_ydoc, I don't see how we can support it.

The 0.8.x branch in this repo still tracks jupyter_server_ydoc.

With this in mind, I have two questions:

1. Would you be open to doing patch releases of jupyter_server_ydoc to fix RTC bugs experienced by JL 3.x users?

2. If maintaining jupyter_server_ydoc is no longer possible, can we change the implementation in JL 3.x to use jupyter_collaboration instead, such that JL 3.x users experiencing RTC bugs can still be supported?

[davidbrochart]

I didn't follow the changes that were made after the move of jupyter_server_ydoc to jupyter-collaboration.
I'll let @hbcarlos and @fcollonval answer your questions.

[fcollonval]

The branch 0.8.x is the one to update jupyter_server_ydoc used by JupyterLab 3.6.x as mentioned by @dlqqq. So it is possible to push new commits on it and release new version of jupyter_server_ydoc.