Efficient computation of aggregated data in containers supporting item level access control

In a computer system that includes data containers in which a plurality of items are stored for access and viewing by a plurality of different users, and wherein the various items stored in a given data container are restricted in terms of access by differing levels of security that may be set for each such item, a computer program product for implementing a method of tracking summary data about the items stored in a container in a manner which permits only that summary data to be displayed to a given user that corresponds to the given user's security level, the computer program product comprising:

• a computer-readable medium for carrying computer-executable instructions for causing the computer system to implement said method, and wherein said method is comprised of steps for:
• storing a plurality of data items having item level security settings in a data container of the computer system, at least some of the data items having differing levels of security settings;
• for each data container, keeping a running total of an aggregate property of all the data items that correspond to the same security setting;
• and
• when a particular user accesses the data container, displaying only the aggregate property for those data items that have the same security setting for which the particular user has viewing rights.