Storing segmented data

A computer device comprising:

• a computer memory;
• and
• a computer, the computer being programmed by computer executable instructions to execute a method of storing segmented data in the computer memory, the segmented data indicating which of a plurality of entities belong to which of a plurality of segments, each segment accommodating entities sharing a single binary characteristic, the method comprising:
• receiving at the computer a list of entity identifiers selected from a sequence of entity identifiers, each entity identifier in the list representing an entity which belongs to a segment;
• the computer using the list to create a bitmap in which each bit has a bit position in a bit sequence corresponding to the sequence of entity identifiers, wherein the state of each bit indicates whether the entity identifier representing that position in the sequence identifies an entity belonging in the segment or not;
• and
• storing the bitmap in a memory in association with a segment identifier, as the segmented data.

A computer system comprising:

• a computer memory;
• a computer, the computer being programmed by computer executable instructions to execute a method of storing segmented data in the computer memory, the segmented data indicating which of a plurality of entities belong to which of a plurality of segments, each segment accommodating entities sharing a single binary characteristic, the method comprising:
• receiving at the computer a list of entity identifiers selected from a sequence of entity identifiers, each entity identifier in the list representing an entity which belongs to a segment;
• the computer using the list to create a bitmap in which each bit has a bit position in a bit sequence corresponding to the sequence of entity identifiers, wherein the state of each bit indicates whether the entity identifier representing that position in the sequence identifies an entity belonging in the segment or not;
• and
• storing the bitmap in a memory in association with a segment identifier, as the segmented data;
• at least one source for providing lists of entity identifiers of entities belonging to a segment;
• and
• at least one requesting computer device for issuing requests to the computer device.

A computer implemented method of responding to a request transmitted from a requesting computer device to a responding computer device, the method comprising:

• receiving the request, the request comprising at least one of a user identifier and a segment identifier identifying one or more segments each segment accommodating users sharing a single binary characteristic;
• accessing one or more bitmaps associated with the one or more segments, wherein in each bitmap a user belonging to a segment has a bit set in the bitmap of the segment;
• using the bitmap to determine the results of a first type of query (a) whether a user identified by the user identifier is in the one or more segments and/or the result of a second type of query (b) which users are in the one or more segments;
• and
• responding to the request with a response to the first and/or second type of query.