Patent ID: 7487159

Claim:
A method for accessing data in a distributed database environment by a client program that is in communication with a server program over a network, wherein the distributed database environment includes a database object, wherein the client program is in communication with an application program, the method comprising: receiving, with the client program, multiple requests for data from the database object satisfying specified search predicates from the application program, wherein each request includes a request for at least one row from the database object; transferring, with the client program, a database command and a rowset parameter indicating a maximum number of rows to return to the server program over the network if the requested row is not maintained by the client program; receiving, with the client program, a data block generated by the server program including rows from the database object satisfying the search predicates in response to the database command, wherein the rows included in the data block do not exceed the rowset parameter; and returning, with the client program, at least one requested row from the received data block in response to one request for the at least one row of data from the application program.