Patent ID: 8793309

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for facilitating the transfer of hierarchical data, the method comprising: creating a document in a computer memory, wherein creating the document comprises: encoding, in the document, a plurality of data nodes corresponding to a plurality of objects in a hierarchical data structure; encoding, in the document, memory layout information corresponding to a memory layout of the computer memory; encoding, in the document, memory address information associated with the plurality of data nodes, the memory address information corresponding to linear, consecutive memory address locations; and transferring, over an electronic network, the document to a client terminal, the document comprising linear, consecutive memory address locations for all of the objects in the hierarchical data structure, the objects having a characteristic such that they may be directly loaded into a client memory when client memory locations corresponding to the memory layout information are available, and having a characteristic such that they may be loaded into translated client memory locations when client memory locations corresponding to the memory layout information are unavailable.