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Display Similar / Related Items

Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 1:20 pm
by xmariaxcx
Hi...

I'm totally new to the forum (and somewhat new to php... so please bear with me)

I'm wondering if it is possible to use php to display similar items to what the user views.... (kind of like amazon and ebay do but MUCH SIMPLER and on a smaller scale) :)

My main idea is to have a forum with several pre defined categories... and if the user leaves a post under "CARS", he'll get a list of other "car" related posts.

Is this possible? I'm looking into the simplest method of implementing something of the sort... any suggestions?

Thanks!

- M

Re: Display Similar / Related Items

Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 1:48 pm
by manohoo
Is this possible?
Yes, it is possible, but that's quite a challenge for a newbie. I recommend that you install an already available application, there are plenty of forum applications out there. You may find some of them in sourceforge.net

Re: Display Similar / Related Items

Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 1:55 pm
by xmariaxcx
mmmm thanks! :) well i'm not a complete newbie, just not an advanced php guru :P I can go about the simple things like member logins, sessions, and reading from a mysql database (the simple stuff!)

I'm working on a thesis project so I need this to be something i can implement / code myself... any idea where i can start? or what i can use? maybe cookies or that's totally unrelated? (thanks again! :)

Re: Display Similar / Related Items

Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 2:08 pm
by manohoo
Gotcha! Given your needs I would keep things simple.
1. When the user requests to post a new entry then offer the categories as choices (links or checklist could do)
2. After the user makes a choice then display 2 sections: one section to capture the users new entry, and another one to display existing posts under the selected category.
Makes sense?

Re: Display Similar / Related Items

Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 2:31 pm
by xmariaxcx
yes that's exactly what i'm thinking of...i'm still in the early stages of my project so i won't be touching this for now. maybe in a few weeks time. thanks for the help. I'll be sure to be back with more questions once i get my hands dirty ;)

Re: Display Similar / Related Items

Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2011 2:34 pm
by xmariaxcx
meanwhile, if anyone has any related articles / tutorials on the matter to get me started ... that would be greatly appreciated :)