Data store interface that facilitates distribution of application functionality across a multi-tier client-server architecture

A server computer system comprising:

• a non-transitory storage device having embodied therein instructions operable to process requests from a client computer system;
• and
• one or more processors coupled to the non-transitory storage device and operable to execute the instructions to perform a method comprising:
• caching into a hierarchical data map comprising a random access memory-resident data structure, by an application running on the server computer system, data from a database associated with the server computer system, by instantiating a plurality of data points within the hierarchical data map and assigning each data point of the plurality of data points an ephemeral ID that uniquely identifies the data point within the plurality of data points, wherein each of the plurality of data points also includes a name field and a value field;
• receiving, by the server computer system, a request from the client computer system, wherein the request contains a value to be stored within a particular data point of the plurality of data points and specifies the particular data point by its ephemeral ID;
• responsive to the request:
• identifying, by the application, the particular data point to be updated by the request based on the ephemeral ID specified in the request;
• transferring, by the application, the value contained in the request to the value field of the particular data point;
• and
• persisting, by the application, changed contents within the hierarchical data map to the database.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium embodying a set of instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of a server computer system, cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

• caching into a hierarchical data map comprising a random access memory-resident data structure, by an application running on the server computer system, data from a database associated with the server computer system, by instantiating a plurality of data points within the hierarchical data map and assigning each data point of the plurality of data points an ephemeral ID that uniquely identifies the data point within the plurality of data points, wherein each of the plurality of data points also includes a name field and a value field;
• receiving, by the server computer system, a request from a client computer system, wherein the request contains a value to be stored within a particular data point of the plurality of data points and specifies the particular data point by its ephemeral ID;
• responsive to the request:
• identifying, by the application, the particular data point to be updated by the request based on the ephemeral ID specified in the request;
• transferring, by the application, the value contained in the request to the value field of the particular data point;
• and
• persisting, by the application, changed contents within the hierarchical data map to the database.