Loading data with complex relationships

Abstract

Data to be loaded into a target system includes entities having corresponding unique primary data value and secondary data values. The secondary data values have associated foreign key relationships, which links the secondary data value to the primary data value of another entity. In loading the data, the entities are split into insertion leaf groups by execution of an iteration process, each iteration involving generation of a respective set of insertion leaf groups containing entities whose secondary data values have no foreign key relationships or only foreign key relationships with the primary data values of entities of the insertion leaf groups generated during any prior iteration. The iteration process is executed until there are no such entities are left. A sequence of generation of the sets of insertion leaf groups is recorded, and the sets of insertion leaf groups are consecutively loaded into the target system according to the sequence.