Patent ID: 7792839

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of indexing a plurality of entries in a database stored on a computer readable storage medium that contains a database table having a base index, the method comprising: inserting a plurality of rows in the database table; generating a plurality of index increments in response to insertion of the rows in the database table, the index increments comprising a subset of database index entries, each database index entry formatted to match a database index entry in a corresponding base index, wherein a number of database index entries in the index increments is less than a number of database index entries in the base index; adding a plurality of database index entries associated with the inserted rows to the index increments; generating an additional index increment from the plurality of index increments in response to an index increment having a memory size that approaches a memory size of volatile cache available to a database generating the additional index increment; satisfying a database request by performing a parallel index scan of the base index and the index increments, the parallel index scan scanning the base index and the index increments concurrently, the database request received subsequent to insertion of the row; and merging the index increments with the base index in response to a query response time for the database exceeding a first predefined criterion defined by an administrator of the database table and a number of index entries exceeding a second predefined criterion upon completion of the step of adding the plurality of index entries to the index increments, such that database index entries added to the base index satisfy a predefined ordering of the base index.