Patent ID: 7469255

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for generating a virtual hierarchy, the computer-implemented method comprising: assigning a first merge identifier to a first node in a first object hierarchy and a second merge identifier to a second node in a second object hierarchy, the first object hierarchy comprising a first portion that comprises the first node and a first descendant node that is associated with the first node, the second object hierarchy comprising a second portion that comprises the second node and a second descendant node that is associated with the second node; flagging the first merge identifier as a first entry point and the second merge identifier as a second entry point; generating the virtual hierarchy by combining, using the first and second merge identifiers, the first portion of the first object hierarchy with the second portion such that the first node and the second node depend from a virtual root that comprises a Uniform Resource Locator of a portal; and storing the virtual root assigned to the virtual hierarchy to configure at the portal navigation among nodes in the first portion and the second portion, the navigation between the first portion of the first object hierarchy and the second portion of the second object hierarchy using the corresponding first and second merge identifiers of the virtual hierarchy.