Systems and methods for high-speed searching and filtering of large datasets

A computer-implemented method comprising:

• receiving from a computer-readable storage medium electronic indicia of a multitude of alphanumeric data records of a hierarchical dataset, each data record including alphanumeric data strings for multiple corresponding defined first-level and second-level data fields;
• and
• using one or more computer processors programmed therefor and operatively coupled to the first storage medium, generating and storing binary indicia of the multitude of alphanumeric data records as one or more binary data files on a computer-readable storage medium operatively coupled to the one or more computer processors,
• wherein:
• the one or more data files form a single, continuous binary string including multiple first-level binary string segments and, following each first-level binary string segment, one or more corresponding second-level binary string segments;
• for the first-level data fields, each range of data strings for the first-level data fields is divided into multiple corresponding first-level subranges, and the multitude of data records comprises multiple first-level subsets of the data records, wherein each first-level subset includes only those data records for which each data string of the first-level data fields falls within a corresponding one of the first-level subranges;
• each first-level binary string segment encodes the data strings of the first-level data fields of a corresponding one of the first-level subsets of the data records;
• each second-level binary string segment encodes data strings of the second-level data fields of that first-level subset of the data records which corresponds to the immediately preceding first-level binary string;
• arrangement of the one or more binary files enables access to the first-level and second-level binary strings in only the order in which each appears in the single, continuous binary string, without enabling random access to the binary indicia of the data strings of the multitude of data records;
• each of the first-level binary string segments includes a corresponding first-level header portion and each of the second-level binary string segments includes a corresponding second-level header portion;
• one or more of the first-level header portions indicate (i) a length of the corresponding first-level binary string segment, (ii) a location of a first-level header portion of the next first-level binary string segment in the single, continuous binary string, and (iii) an end of the sequence of first-level binary string segments of the single, continuous binary string;
• and
• one or more of the second-level header portions indicate (i) a length of the corresponding second-level binary string segment, (ii) a location of a second-level header portion of the next second-level binary string segment within the same first-level binary string segment in the single, continuous binary string, and (iii) a first-level header portion of the next first-level binary string segments in the single, continuous binary string.