Patent ID: 7849289

Claim:
An information processing method of tabulating item values stored in plural processing modules, in an information processing system comprising a plurality of processing modules logically connected in a ring shape, wherein each of the processing modules includes a memory arranged to store table format data representing an array of records, including item values corresponding to an item of information, in forms of a value list in which the item values are stored in an order of item value numbers corresponding to the item values and an array of pointers in which information for designating the item value numbers is stored in an order of the records, the information processing method comprising the steps: (1) in each of the processing modules, storing in the memory global record numbers uniquely allocated to the records in the processing module among the plural processing modules and global item value numbers ordered with respect to item values in the processing module among the plural processing modules; (2) in each of the processing modules, sorting, in the processing module, the records in an order determined according to a set of global item value numbers of at least one or more designated items; (3) in each of the processing modules, storing a set of global item value numbers corresponding to the records in the memory, said set of global item value numbers being associated with dimension value numbers representing orders of the sorted records to the set of global item value numbers; (4) in each of the processing modules, mutually acquiring sets of global item value numbers from the other processing modules, counting a number of sets of global item value numbers ordered higher than the set of global item value numbers in the processing module, and allocating global dimension value numbers, which are common among the plural processing modules, to the sets of global item value numbers by increasing the dimension value number of the set of global item value numbers in the processing module by the counted number; (5) in each of the processing modules, calculating, for each of the sets of global item value numbers, a local tabulated value by tabulating item values of predetermined items of information in accordance with a predetermined rule; and (6) in each of the processing modules, acquiring local tabulated values for each of the sets of global item value numbers from the other processing modules and calculating a tabulated value by tabulating the tabulated values acquired for each of the sets of global item value numbers.