Patent ID: 7853553

Claim:
A computer-implemented method comprising: creating a source data structure corresponding to a source form, wherein a data object is stored in the source form in a source database, the source data structure comprises a plurality of source components that are related through a first set of parent-child relationships, and the first set of parent-child relationships form a first source hierarchical structure; creating a destination data structure corresponding to a destination form, wherein the destination data structure comprises a plurality of destination components that are related through a second set of parent-child relationships, the second set of parent-child relationships form a second destination hierarchical structure, and the creating the destination data structure comprises extracting metadata from a destination database to define the destination data structure, and determining, based on the metadata extracted from the destination database, a type of the data object in the destination database; receiving a transformation map, wherein the transformation map comprises a set of transformation mapping expressions for transforming the data object between the source form and the destination form, the set of transformation mapping expressions comprises an object map, the object map comprises a component map, and the component map comprises mappings between at least one component in a first source hierarchical level of the first source hierarchical structure, and at least one component in a second destination hierarchical level of the second destination hierarchical structure, wherein the second destination hierarchical level differs from the first source hierarchical level; automatically transforming the data object from the source form into the destination form based on the transformation map, wherein the transforming is performed by one or more processors; and storing the transformed data object, using a machine-readable storage medium, in the destination form into the destination database.