Patent ID: 7487179

Claim:
A method for updating data in a database, said method comprising the steps of: providing a database residing within a computer system consisting essentially of one server; retrieving a predetermined maximum number of server tasks that can be run on said one server at a given time; initiating a plurality of server tasks to update data in a base table in said database, wherein said plurality of server tasks run contemporaneously on said one server, wherein said plurality of server tasks initiated consists essentially of a single type of server task chosen from a server task group comprised of: import task, export task, delete task, merge task and update task; specifying one or more parameters for said plurality of server tasks in a driver file, said one or more parameters including said predetermined maximum number of server tasks that can be run contemporaneously on said one server at said any given time; testing whether said one or more parameters for said plurality of server tasks are passed as arguments; and checking whether said one or more parameters exist before initiating said plurality of server tasks on said one server; automating a collection of statistics associated with and subsequent to completing a first batch of said plurality of server tasks running to completion on said one server, wherein said collection of statistics optimize performance of any remaining batches of said plurality of server tasks running to completion based on choosing an optimum path for accessing data from an intermediary table for updating said data in said base table; and automatically submitting a next server task of said plurality of server tasks when a server task of said plurality of server tasks has been processed on said one server, until each server task of said plurality of server tasks has been processed for updating said data in said database on said one server and up to said predetermined maximum number of server tasks that can be run contemporaneously on said one server at any given time.