1. A computer-readable medium encoded with a data structure configured to represent a time-related profile of a resource as a hierarchy, the data structure comprising: an ordered set of nodes forming a hierarchy of temporal levels, wherein a temporal level comprises a set of nodes from the ordered set of nodes having a similar or same magnitude temporal span; each of at least some of the nodes from the ordered set of nodes comprises a set of data fields for storing profile-related data, at least one a time span indicator, and up to four links comprising: a link to a temporally-immediate prior same-level node; a link to a temporally-immediate subsequent same-level node; a link to a next higher temporal level node having a time span that includes the node's time span; and a link to a next lower temporal level node having a time span that is included within the time span of the node; and wherein the set of data fields for storing profile-related data for at least some of the nodes from the ordered set of nodes that form a lowest temporal level comprises one or more resource values.