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I am implementing my first syncing code. In my case I will have 2 types of iOS clients per user that will sync records to a server using a lastSyncTimestamp , a 64 bit integer representing the Unix epoch in milliseconds of the last sync. Records can be created on the server or the clients at any time and the records are exchanged as JSON over HTTP. I am not worried about conflicts as there are few updates and always from the same user. However, I am wondering if there are common things that I need to be aware of that can go wrong with a timestamp based approach such as syncing during daylight savings time, syncs conflicting with another, or other gotchas. I know that git and some other version control system eschew syncing with timestamps for a content based negotiation syncing approach. I could imagine such an approach for my apps too, where using the uuid or hash of the objects, both peers announce which objects they own, and then exchange them until both peers have the same sets. If anybody knows any advantages or disadvantages of content-based syncing versus timestamp-based syncing in general that would be helpful as well. Edit - Here are some of the advantages/disadvantages that I have come up with for timestamp and content based syncing. Please challenge/correct. Note - I am defining content-based syncing as simple negotiation of 2 sets of objects such as how 2 kids would exchange cards if you gave them each parts of a jumbled up pile of 2 identical sets of baseball cards and told them that as they look through them to announce and hand over any duplicates they found to the other until they both have identical sets. Johnny - "I got this card." Davey - "I got this bunch of cards. Give me that card." Johnny - "Here is your card. Gimme that bunch of cards." Davey - "Here are your bunch of cards."

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