Patent ID: 8364700

Claim:
A method for accessing data stored on a computer system including one or more computers on a network, the method comprising: determining a tree identifier using the computer system; traversing, using the computer system, an N-leg search tree associated with the tree identifier stored on a computer, to a given node within the N-leg search tree, wherein the given node corresponds to a given element of a structured identifier; and accessing a data structure associated with a deepest valid traversed node, wherein the deepest valid traversed node is determined by: (a) determining whether data stored at the given node is valid; (b) when the data stored at the given node is determined to be valid, determining that the given node is the deepest valid traversed node; and (c) when the data stored at the given node is determined to be not valid, traversing back up the N-leg search tree to a first parent node that stores valid data, and determining that the first parent node that stores valid data is the deepest valid traversed node.