Patent ID: 6601067
Filing Date: 2003-07-29
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
An apparatus for sorting and merging records contained in a plurality of input files in accordance with predefined conditions, comprising:group profile identification means for accepting a command containing file group profile specifications, and identifying record extraction criteria for individual groups of input files by parsing the file group profile specifications contained in the command, the file group profile specifications including the record extraction criteria that are different from group to group; extraction criteria setting means for setting up one of the identified record extraction criteria that is required to process input files belonging to a specific group; file reading means for reading records from the input files; record extraction processing means for extracting, out of the records read out from the input files, such records that are relevant to the record extraction criterion set up by said extraction criteria setting means; sort/merge execution means for executing a sort/merge operation to the extracted records; and file writing means for writing the sorted and/or merged records to an output file.