Content Filtering

[sbryan]

I know this is a question with complex answers, but I'd like to know how to create an interface where results are generated based on user input.

For example:

I'm using a website to sift through home listings.

I'm looking specifically for a 4-bedroom, 3 bathroom ranch home with a finished basement.

"What listings do you guys have for me?"

Thanks,
Sean

 

[SrWebDeveloper]

There are a million web sites out there to help people find homes via the MLS listing database. Some sites are better than others in terms of how one defines search criteria and how the results are displayed.

An example of what I consider a well designed site for this purpose can be found here. Weichert does a decent job - pay close attention to the left side of the page, be sure to play around with all the options, search for locations, and use the update links found there. That affects the sorting and listing on the right, which also has column header based sorting.

This logic can be applied to a database storing elements of a home, i.e. room types, type of home, bathrooms, etc. with RATINGS applied to each. The options such as "4 bedroom 3 baths" are all there, just presented in little dialogs as part of the overall search form, not like an ask Jeeves thing which is VERY complex under the hood involving fuzzy logic and rankings of results using Bayesian logic.


-jim

 

[angelwatt]

What part of the interface do you need help with e.g., the HTML, PHP, or MySQL?