How would I create a category infobox...

[dsatchell]

I'm creating a store for a client and I have the standard infobox for categories and I will be loading the contribution for sort on price but I need another infobox that will list all products whose model number is coded a certain way.

 

For instance, all products follow the structure of CJE###XX##YY#. The E signifies what the primary category infobox will list. But the customer wants to have a second category infobox based on price which I have download the contribution for. The customer also wants a third category infobox that will be based on the two X's in the product number. If the XX = RD then that would be a different category than one that is BL or GR.

 

What would be the easiest and most efficient way to do this? I would rather not add a field to the database product table unless it was automatically populated based on the product code. I don't want to have to manually fill in another field when the code is already in the model ID. I'm thinking that whenever a product is added to the system that a chached table that would be automatically created would be idea. Or manually created depending on the number of products in the database.

 

Suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanx, Dave.

[Guest]

Let's see if I understand this correctly:

 

A custom box is to constructed from specific model numbers containing CJE###XX##YY# where "XX" is the selection criteria. This box is to be selected and limited to a certain number of displayed products.

 

Is the "XX" located in multiple categories or are they all in the same category?

 

At first glance it doesn't seem that hard to code a simple box based on my understanding of your client specifications. If the "XX" is unique you could simply use a query like "SELECT * from table_name where field_name LIKE %XX% LIMIT 10". Then fetch the array and pump it into a box.

[dsatchell]

That's pretty much what I was thinking but I don't have an accurate enough understanding of how osCommerce works.

 

The E stands for ear rings. Also possible are (N)ecklace, (A)nklet, (P)endant, and (B)racelet.

 

The XX is for the color code which would be GR (green), RD (red), BL (blue), YL (yellow), etc.

 

So we have the normal category box based on type, and the contribution that is based on price. What I need is a infobox that would be based on color without having to have a new field added to the product description.

 

What I don't know is what is the best way to attack this as my concerns are:

1. I want to do something that is effecient, I wouldn't want to use a method that would strain a large system.

2. I would prefer to just modify some existing system rather than reinvent the wheel.

3. I would prefer a system that could have limited modificatons from the admin section such as which characters are being searched for in the model number, what does each selection mean, and how would the results appear in the infobox.

 

Thanx, Dave.