Patent ID: 7058640

Claim:
A computer system for efficiently updating changed and associated data in a multidimensional database, said computer having a star schema configuration associated with said multidimensional database, said star schema having a hierarchy dependency relationship with at least one leaf level and at least one higher level; said star schema configuration including at least one fact table and at least one dimension table, said method comprising: identifying changes in said data that are made in said at least one fact table; forming at least one changed said fact table that includes said changed data and said data; setting an indicator value for said changed data in at least one status column in said at least one dimension table; identifying affected data at said leaf level that is identified by said at least one indicator value; identifying said hierarchy dependency relationship in said at least one dimension table; identifying affected data at said at least one higher level that is identified by said hierarchy dependency relationship and said affected data at said leaf level; identifying subset data at said leaf level that is in said at least one dimension table, and that is associated with the said affected data at said at least one higher level; and updating at least one multidimensional database aggregate table that is updated with said subset data in said at least one dimension table and with said data in said at least one changed fact table thereby efficiently updating said changed and associated data in said multidimensional database wherein said updating said at least one multidimensional database aggregate table updates at least one non-additive measure.