Patent ID: 8620883

Claim:
A computer-executable method of reconciling different versions of an ordered list, comprising: receiving, at a computer, a first version of an ordered list having a first plurality of ordered entries, wherein the first plurality of ordered entries have respectively associated order indexes; receiving a second version of the ordered list having a second plurality of ordered entries, wherein the second plurality of ordered entries have respectively associated order indexes; comparing, at a selected order index, respective ordered entries from the first and second versions of the ordered list; generating, based on the comparing, at least a portion of all possible current lists that reconcile the first and second versions of the ordered list; for each possible current list, accumulating a penalty when the comparing identifies a difference between the respective ordered entries; selecting one of the possible current lists that has a lowest accumulated penalty among all the possible current lists; and storing the selected one of the possible current lists as a current version of the ordered list; wherein the comparing, generating and accumulating are repeated for at least one further selected order index, and wherein said repeated generating produces at least one said possible current list completely.