Patent ID: 8713552

Claim:
A method for avoiding conflicts when serving files to a plurality of clients capable of updating the files comprising: collecting and storing a plurality of files at a server communicatively linked to a plurality of clients, wherein said files are stored in a tangible storage medium communicatively linked to the server; copying a file, and transmitting copies of the file to a first set of clients; receiving update information comprising updates associated with the transmitted copies of the file, and respective identifiers of each of the first set of clients along with their respective updates; extracting, from the file, parts related to the received update information, wherein the extracting includes identifying relationships between parameters passed among the parts of the file or passed among the plurality of files stored at the server; storing the update information in association with the extracted parts of the file in a repository separate from the file, without updating the file at the server; judging, based on the stored update information and extracted parts, whether the file has been copied and updated by one or more clients of the plurality of clients other than the first set of clients; and responsive to the judging that the file has been copied and updated by one or more other clients, transmitting warning information to all clients, the warning information including update information and including the respective identifiers of the clients submitting updates and indicating that the file copies received by the first set of clients are outdated versions of the file.