Methods and Systems for Shared Data Sets in an On-Line Services Environment

1 . A method comprising:

receiving a request for data stored in a shared database from a user;

identifying the requesting user;

retrieving the requested data from the shared database;

determining whether there are user-specific changes for the retrieved data;

changing the retrieved data using the user-specific changes; and

supplying the the changed retrieved data as the requested data to the user.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining comprises by checking a flag.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining comprises referencing a delta table, the delta table containing user-specific changes referenced to user data.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a data change request from a user, the data change request being a request to change a specified data entry in a main database for the requesting user;

adding the change to a delta table; and

flagging the entry in the main database.

5 . A method comprising:

identifying a user and associating the user with data in a shared database;

receiving a purchased dataset from the identified user;

determining relationships between records of the purchased dataset and records of the shared database;

determining relationships between fields of the purchased dataset and fields of the shared database;

adding the purchased dataset to a delta table associated with the shared database based on the determined record relationships and field relationships; and

providing access to the purchased dataset to the user through requests for data in the shared database.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

determining parameters of the shared database, the database being maintained by a database administrator;

offering a dataset related to the data of the shared database in a marketplace;

providing access to the offered dataset to a customer that has access to the shared database; and

providing the offered dataset and an identification of the customer to the database administrator.

7 . (canceled)