This is the first of papers describing an implementation of the hp-adaptive, mixed Finite Element (FE) method for the solution of steady-stale Maxwell's equations proposed in L. Demkowicz and L. Vardapetyan (Modeling of electromagnetic absoption/scattering problems using hp-adaptive finite elements, Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 152, 1998, 103-124). The discretization is defined on a hybrid grid consisting of both triangles and quads and allows for both h- and p-refinements of the mesh. The paper focuses on the data structure and constrained approximation issues and provides a number of illustrative examples. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.