A method and system is provided for configurable articulation of criteria
for period archival, deletion, or movement of data from one data storage
system to another. A consistent method for executing programs which
manage specific data uses criteria articulated to identify sets of data
and the rules associated with the data entities being process by the
programs. Data entities may have different controlling rules and policies
such as required by different countries, companies, or contractual
arrangements. Data entities are associated with rules and policies that
define durations for storage, frequency of archival, retention periods,
or the like. As a result a consistent process may be achieved that
captures an organization's retention policy and that be administered over
a variety of application systems.