Patent ID: 7047258

Claim:
A computer implemented method for validating an update to a record in a remote database over a network, the update including at least one event, comprising: comparing the record in the remote database with a corresponding record in a local database; generating an exception that describes a discrepancy between the remote database record and the local database record, for each discrepancy; associating an exception identifier with each exception, wherein each exception identifier is associated with an identifier of the record; associating an event identifier with each event in the update, wherein each event identifier is associated with an identifier of the record; and determining whether the update is valid by comparing the events and exceptions that correspond to the record; wherein the types of exceptions include: a first exception type in which the record is in the remote database and not in the local database; a second exception type in which the record is in the local database and not in the remote database; and a third exception type in which the record is in the local database and the remote database and a value of a field of the record in the local database is different than the value of the same field of the record in the remote database.