Patent ID: 7774308

Claim:
A method for effectively deleting a first item stored in at least one storage location within a distributed datastore, comprising the steps of: propagating said first item to said at least one storage location within said distributed datastore using a single insertion procedure; inserting an anti-item into said distributed datastore, wherein said anti-item comprises a data item having a structure configured to effectively delete said first item from said at least one storage location within said datastore, wherein said first item and said anti-item comprise tuples having the same structure, but for a deletion key value, wherein said deletion key value distinguishes said first item from said anti-item; and wherein effective deletion comprises excluding said first item from subsequent data retrieval operations; and propagating said anti-item using said single insertion procedure, wherein said single insertion procedure ignores said deletion key value when propagating said first item and said anti-item, and wherein said single insertion procedure ensures that said anti-item reaches each of said at least one storage location of said first item.