Patent ID: 7149759

Claim:
A method for detecting conflicts in replicated data in a database network, wherein the database network includes a plurality of systems, each system including a table which includes replicated data, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a column to the table in each of the plurality of systems which indicates whether the replicated data in the table is current, wherein a replication cycle is performed after the replicated data is first updated by one of the plurality of systems and before the replicated data is subsequently updated by another of the plurality of systems, and wherein the providing step (a) further includes the steps of: (a1) defining a structured array data type for a value in the column, wherein the structured array includes a plurality of elements and each element is associated with replicated data stored in a column in a given row in the table, and (a2) assigning a value to each element, wherein the value indicates whether the replicated data stored in the associated column and the given row is current, the value of each element being one of a null value, a local value, and an identifier; and (b) determining whether the replicated data in the table in one of the plurality of systems is current based on the column when a request to access the replicated data in the table is received, wherein the determining step (b) further includes the steps of: (b1) checking the value of the element associated with the requested replicated data, (b2) determining that the requested replicated data is current if the value of the element is one of a null value and a local value, and (b3) determining that the requested replicated data is not current if the value is an identifier, wherein the identifier identifies a second system in the database network that has the current value for the requested replicated data.