Patent ID: 7171613

Claim:
A method of synchronizing communications messages between a first back office system and a web-based application in a computer network, wherein the first back office system comprises a first back office database and a plurality of nodes for creating documents, the nodes communicating with the first back office database, the documents each being identified with a primary key code and a timestamp designating the time of creation of each document, and the back office system generates document messages, the document messages each comprising one of the documents and primary key code and timestamp information for the one of the documents, the method comprising the steps of: receiving in the web-based application a stream of the document messages from the first back office system, wherein the document messages transfer information about changes to data in the first back office system for integrating the first back office system and the web-based application; operating a database of the web-based application to maintain inbound document message information comprising primary key codes and said timestamps for selected document messages previously received by the web-based application database; comparing the primary key code of a new inbound document message received by the web-based application database with primary key codes maintained in the web-based application database for the previously received document messages; selecting a pair of corresponding document messages by identifying any one previously received document message having a primary key code corresponding with the primary key code of the new inbound message; selecting a unique new inbound document message by identifying any new inbound document message with a primary key code which does not correspond to any of the primary key codes maintained in the web-based application database; identifying the more recent document message in the selected pair of corresponding document messages by comparing the timestamp of the previously received document message in the message pair with the timestamp of the new inbound message in the message pair; and updating the web-based application database to record: the inbound document message information for the more recent document message, the unique inbound document message; and the timestamps for the more recent and the unique inbound document messages, wherein the method is adapted to process the document messages in a synchronous time sequence even if the timestamp of the previously received document message is more recent than the timestamp of the new inbound message.