Patent ID: 7243093

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for accessing data in a federated database system, comprising: receiving, from a user, a federated query targeting one or more databases; receiving, from the user, a selected option from a list of one or more options for executing the received federated query if one or more of the targeted databases are not available by modifying the received federated query to run against available databases; determining the availability of the targeted databases prior to executing the received federated query; and if the targeted databases are available, running the received federated query against the targeted databases and retrieving results corresponding the received federated query from the targeted databases; if one or more of the targeted databases are not available, modifying the received federated query to run against available databases according to the user selected option to generate a modified federated query, issuing the modified federated query to run against the available databases, and receiving results corresponding to the modified federated query from the available databases in response to issuing the modified federated query.