Posted by Jochem Maas on 10/20/52 11:30

James Benson wrote:
> Not sure about the numbers but soundex could be useful
>
> http://php.net/soundex

right and maybe its easier to just index thing like '5.11' as
'511' - ie just stripping off everything not alphanumeric ...
amnd doing the same with whatever people search on. I have used
a similar technique to make it easier to search for text/words that
contains letters with diacrites (e.g. 'e acute' becomes a plain 'e')

and never underestimate a users ability to start writing about eating
dessert in the desert, no doubt they had sandcakes. ;-)

>
>
>
> James
>
>
> Chris W. Parker wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> On my site right now if someone searches for "511" (a misspelling of the
>> manufacturer 5.11) they are not presented with the right products
>> because 511 is not found anywhere in the database.
>>
>> I've got a few ideas on how to solve this but I want to find one that
>> requires as little administrative overhead as possible.
>>
>> 1. I could add a field to the db for each product that would be used for
>> associated words for a product as well as misspellings.
>>
>> PROS: Very customizable on an individual product level.
>> CONS: Would need to be updated for each and every product individually.
>>
>> 2. Make a field for each manufacturer's record for alternate
>> spellings/keywords.
>>
>> PROS: Little administrative overhead.
>> CONS: Is only manufacturer name based and could not account for specific
>> products.
>>
>> 3. Both #1 and #2.
>>
>> PROS: Flexible.
>> CONS: Lots of administrative overhead.
>>
>> 4. A one-to-many table that associates individual words with product
>> skus. This one is pretty much the opposite of #1 with one key
>> difference: the interface. It would be probably be easier to enter a
>> desired word and then choose each sku from a multi-select dropdown than
>> it would be to go from product to product entering one word at a time.
>>
>> 5. I'm not sure how this would be accomplished from a technical
>> standpoint but it would be nice to have the program know that when
>> someone types in "511" they really meant "5.11". Or (hopefully this
>> isn't a bad example) if they type in "dessert" (as in cake and icecream)
>> they really meant "desert" (as in snakes and sand).
>>
>> In my case that wouldn't be a bad assumption since our site will never
>> contain the word desert unless it's a misspelling.
>>
>>
>> What does everyone think? What other options are out there?
>>
>>
>>
>> Chris.
>
>

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