Patent ID: 8745486

Claim:
A computer output display system, comprising: at least one processing unit; and at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processing unit and storing computer-executable instructions that when executed by the at least one processing unit perform a method of providing target-independent instructions for rendering graphical data, the method comprising: generating one or more layout and pagination rules for rendering the graphical data, wherein the graphical data has a hierarchical structure described by at least one parent and at least one child; processing the one or more layout and pagination rules according to a non-target- specific protocol to generate the target-independent instructions for rendering the graphical data, wherein the target-independent instructions include properties for rendering the graphical data, wherein the properties comprise one or more runtime sizes, wherein the target-independent instructions are generated as a binary stream that preserves the hierarchical structure of the graphical data, and wherein the binary stream comprises an offset-based hierarchy for jumping from the at least one parent to the at least one child to read the one or more runtime sizes without reading all of the properties; communicating the target-independent instructions to a first device, wherein the target-independent instructions are transformable into a first format for rendering the graphical data on the first device according to the processed one or more layout and pagination rules; and communicating the target-independent instructions to a second device, wherein the target-independent instructions are transformable into a second format for rendering the graphical data on the second device according to the processed one or more layout and pagination rules, wherein the first format and the second format are different.