A computer-implemented method and system for encoding (and decoding) nodes of a tree structure are provided. The method includes receiving nodes of a tree structure into memory and, with a processor, for each node of at least one node in the tree structure, creating a numeric encoding by assigning an encoding value to the node, a root node N0 having a fixed encoding value and any other node Nj having an encoding value which is a function of an encoding value of its parent node and an integer k, where Nj is the kth child of the parent node. The encoding enables a path from the node to be traversed to the root node of the tree by applying a decomposition function to the encoding.