docs: def _update_transient_database(
              self,
              crossmatches,
              classifications,
              transientsMetadataList,
              colMaps):
          """ update transient database with classifications and crossmatch results
  
          **Key Arguments:**
              - ``crossmatches`` -- the crossmatches and associations resulting from the catlaogue crossmatches
              - ``classifications`` -- the classifications assigned to the transients post-crossmatches (dictionary of rank ordered list of classifications)
              - ``transientsMetadataList`` -- the list of transient metadata lifted from the database.
              - ``colMaps`` -- maps of the important column names for each table/view in the crossmatch-catalogues database
  
          .. todo ::
  
              - update key arguments values and definitions with defaults
              - update return values and definitions
              - update usage examples and text
              - update docstring text
              - check sublime snippet exists
              - clip any useful text to docs mindmap
              - regenerate the docs and check redendering of this docstring
          """
  
          self.log.debug('starting the ``_update_transient_database`` method')
  
          import time
          start_time = time.time()
          print "UPDATING TRANSIENTS DATABASE WITH RESULTS"
          print "DELETING OLD RESULTS"
  
          now = datetime.now()
          now = now.strftime("%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S-%f")
  
          transientTable = self.settings["database settings"][
              "transients"]["transient table"]
          transientTableClassCol = self.settings["database settings"][
              "transients"]["transient classification column"]
          transientTableIdCol = self.settings["database settings"][
              "transients"]["transient primary id column"]
  
          # COMBINE ALL CROSSMATCHES INTO A LIST OF DICTIONARIES TO DUMP INTO
          # DATABASE TABLE
          transientIDs = [str(c)
                          for c in classifications.keys()]
          transientIDs = ",".join(transientIDs)
  
          # REMOVE PREVIOUS MATCHES
          sqlQuery = """delete from sherlock_crossmatches where transient_object_id in (%(transientIDs)s);""" % locals(
          )
          writequery(
              log=self.log,
              sqlQuery=sqlQuery,
              dbConn=self.transientsDbConn,
          )
          sqlQuery = """delete from sherlock_classifications where transient_object_id in (%(transientIDs)s);""" % locals(
          )
          writequery(
              log=self.log,
              sqlQuery=sqlQuery,
              dbConn=self.transientsDbConn,
          )
  
          print "FINISHED DELETING OLD RESULTS/ADDING TO CROSSMATCHES: %d" % (time.time() - start_time,)
          start_time = time.time()
  
          if len(crossmatches):
              insert_list_of_dictionaries_into_database_tables(
                  dbConn=self.transientsDbConn,
                  log=self.log,
                  dictList=crossmatches,
                  dbTableName="sherlock_crossmatches",
                  dateModified=True,
                  batchSize=10000,
                  replace=True,
                  dbSettings=self.settings["database settings"][
                      "transients"]
              )
  
          print "FINISHED ADDING TO CROSSMATCHES/UPDATING CLASSIFICATIONS IN TRANSIENT TABLE: %d" % (time.time() - start_time,)
          start_time = time.time()
  
          sqlQuery = ""
          inserts = []
          for k, v in classifications.iteritems():
              thisInsert = {
                  "transient_object_id": k,
                  "classification": v[0]
              }
              inserts.append(thisInsert)
  
          print "FINISHED UPDATING CLASSIFICATIONS IN TRANSIENT TABLE/UPDATING sherlock_classifications TABLE: %d" % (time.time() - start_time,)
          start_time = time.time()
  
          insert_list_of_dictionaries_into_database_tables(
              dbConn=self.transientsDbConn,
              log=self.log,
              dictList=inserts,
              dbTableName="sherlock_classifications",
              dateModified=True,
              batchSize=10000,
              replace=True,
              dbSettings=self.settings["database settings"][
                  "transients"]
          )
  
          print "FINISHED UPDATING sherlock_classifications TABLE: %d" % (time.time() - start_time,)
          start_time = time.time()
  
          self.log.debug('completed the ``_update_transient_database`` method')
          return None