Automated referential integrity maintenance

A data architecture comprising:

• a plurality of data elements including a first data element, a second data element, and a third data element, wherein certain of the data elements are linked to other of the data elements;
• the first data element depending from and linked to a second data element;
• the first data element depending from and linked to a third data element;
• wherein the first data element is only stored in one location, the storage being associated with the second data element, with only a referential link between the first data element and the third data element;
• when a given data element is to be deleted, checking to see if the given data element has other data elements depending from the given data element;
• if the given data element has other data elements depending therefrom, deleting the dependent data elements if the dependent data elements are not dependent on other data elements;
• if the given data element has other data elements depending therefrom and the dependent data elements are dependent on other data elements, determining if the dependent nature of the dependent data element to the given data elements is a true bind or is a link reference;
• and
• if the dependent nature of the dependent data element to the given data element is a true bind, changing the storage of the dependent data element to a storage associated with one of the other data elements to which the dependent data element is dependent.

A computer program product embodied on a propagating signal, comprising:

• computer program devices readable by a data processor coupled to receive the propagating signal for providing referential integrity in a data architecture, the data architecture including a plurality of data elements, wherein certain of the data elements are linked to other of the data elements, the computer program devices including:
• first program code devices configured to cause the data processor to provide the ability for a first data element to depend from and be linked to a second data element;
• second program code devices configured to cause the data processor to provide the ability for the first data element to also depend from and be linked to a third data element;
• third program code devices configured to cause the data processor to allow the first data element to only be stored in one location, the storage being associated with the second data element, with only a referential link between the first data element and the third data element;
• fourth program code devices configured when a given data element is to be deleted to cause the processor to check to see if the given data element has other data elements depending from the given data element;
• fifth program code devices configured if the given data element has other data elements depending therefrom to cause the processor to delete the dependent data elements if the dependent data elements are not dependent on other data elements;
• and
• sixth program code device configured if the given data element has other data elements depending therefrom and the dependent data elements are dependent on other data elements to cause the processor to determine if the dependent nature of the dependent data element to the given data elements is a true bind or is a link reference.

A method of maintaining profile information in a distributed computing environment, the method comprising:

• providing a first profile with an ability to be referentially linked to other profiles and to have a single true bind to one other profile as indicated in an attribute element of the first profile;
• providing a second profile with an ability to be referentially linked to other profiles and to have a single true bind to one other profile as indicated in an attribute element of the second profile;
• and
• providing a third profile with an ability to be referentially linked to other profiles and to have a single true bind to one other profile as indicated in an attribute element of the third profile;
• wherein the attribute of the first profile indicates a true bind to the second profile and the first profile is stored in a single location associated with the second data element and the attribute of the first profile indicates only a referential link between the first data element and the third data element and further wherein a later deleting of the second profile includes changing the single storage location of the first profile to a storage associated with another profile to which the first profile is determined dependent.