[thelist] database sorting problem

[Luther, Ron]

Brett noted:

>>On my website (I am a real estate agent) ... I need [rental listings]
sorted according to the 'listing #". 


Hi Brett,

Sorry. I'm not very familiar with rental sites.  Is rental 'listing #'
similar to 'MLS #'?


>>I really need  a field to be created which the listing # can be
entered into, 
>>and then have the listings sorted according to that field. 

Are you sure???  Again, I'm not familiar with these 'listing numbers' or
how they are assigned ... but that really sounds like a pretty crappy
way to organize things.   Not my market of course, but I would assume
people in need of a rental property would want to search by
neighborhood, or by price, or by 'features' such as number of rooms,
bathrooms, or garage spaces, school district, etc.  It isn't obvious to
me that 'listing number' would organize things in a manner clients would
care anything about.


>>without them being in sequential order according to the listing there
is no way the 
>>public can logically find the pictures to that listing.

Bzzzt!  False.  Sorry Brett, somebody sold you a load of magic beans on
that one.  That is totally a function of how the backend DB is
organized.  Why don't you take a look at some of the MLS based realty
sites out there and get a feel for the functionality they offer.  They
typically bring the photos up as links within the listing itself. [e.g.
There is absolutely _no_ need for the public to hunt around and 'find'
the pictures.]  

Here is an example of a search screen for a realtor service I spend some
time looking around at, (which just happens to include an option to
search through properties to buy or properties to lease):
http://search.har.com/cs_allproptype.htm

Enter an MLS number, (like 4110654 for example), for a short listing
containing links to "Details", "Map", and "Photo Gallery".  See how the
photos are integrated into the property details?  No need for the public
to hunt for anything except the property they are interested in.


When you set requirements for whoever codes your site you need to focus
on 'what' you want your site to provide - not 'how' you want your site
to provide that functionality ... that's the coder's job to figger out.



Anyway, Good Luck!


RonL.