Patent ID: 7313581

Claim:
A method, in a data processing system, for deleting entries from a directory in which directory information is stored in a set of database tables, comprising the steps of: receiving a request at the data processing system to delete a directory entry from a directory, wherein the directory service is a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory service and the database is managed by a relational management service; responsive to receiving the request to delete a directory entry, determining to tag the directory entry for subsequent deletion by setting a creation time of the directory entry to a predetermined value; updating a first database table storing the creation time of the directory entry; responsive to a search by the data processing system for directory entries that satisfy a search query, excluding tagged directory entries from search results that otherwise satisfy the search query; periodically searching for tagged during entries during a cleanup process interval; and deleting by the data processing system references to the tagged directory entries throughout the set of database tables.