Well-known methods such as the force density method, dynamic relaxation, updated reference strategy, and others are considered by mathematically structuring and presenting them in the same way, using the same notation and combining terminology. Based on this, a single computational framework using a sparse branch-node data structure is made.This framework marginalizes any differences related to operating platforms, programming language, and style, offering a better baseline for independent comparison of performance and results. As a consequence, it is possible to more clearly relate, distinguish, and compare existing methods, allow for hybrid methods, and identify new avenues for research.