Solutions : Page Generators : Item Detail

Item Detail
Installation and Usage

FILENAME: i.html

PURPOSE:

Describes installation and use of Item Detail.

DEPENDENCIES:

pg.pl - Page Generators common configuration and logic module (see pg.txt)
jhzcs.pl - JHZ-CS common configuration and logic module
IID (Item Information Dataset)

REQUIREMENTS:

i.cgi
xxx.htm (multiple templates supported; see "Templates" below)

Supplied Sample Templates:
i_1.htm
i_2.htm
i_S.htm
i_all.htm (Display All)

Optional:

Support for Item Compare, Text Search and Banner Rotator System requires those components to be previously installed and configured with Special Template markup supporting these components to be included within this product templates.

PACKING (PARTS) LIST

INSTALLATION:

TEMPLATES:

Item Detail includes three sample templates:

i_1.htm (standard display)
i_2.htm (large image display)
i_S.htm (specifications display)
i_all.htm (display all items processing)

For initial installation it is recommended to use the sample templates provided until after having tested the installation and verified the configuration modifications are working as expected. Then, create the templates desired or modify the sample templates.

Item Detail supports two templates per item to be defined in the IID. Invocation of Item Detail without the template parameter "t" results in the default template being used to generate the page. When the template parameter name and value pair is passed as "t=2" the alternate template is used as opposed to the default.

There is no restriction to the number of templates used; however, only two templates may be specified per item. Simply specify the names of the two templates to be used for each item in the IID and invoke Item Detail Page with or without the template parameter name and value pair to cause the desired template to be used.

Templates naming conventions are not strictly enforce; however, it is recommended that the filename extension of ".htm" is used to help assure proper platform conversion during FTP upload and download as ASCII text.

Any variable contained in the IID may be referenced using the variables (column header name) wrapped in less than greater than pairs. The variable name cannot contain spaces.

Two special keywords are available for use when using a variable reference within web page anchor names, anchor references and CGI URL parameters. This allows use of referenced variables that equate to an item values containing spaces. The use of these special keywords causes spaces to be translated or escaped using the required character sequences.

The special keywords are:

	ANCHOR
	PARAM 

EXAMPLE:

	c.cgi?c=<<category PARAM>> 

	<a href="#<<category ANCHOR>>">
	<a name="<<category ANCHOR>>"> 

The All Items template is used to generate results containing all items contained in the IID; 20 items at a time. The repeating entries, one for each item, are marked within the template using the following special markup directives (in the form of HTML comments).

<!-- Entry Start -->
<!-- Entry End -->

TEST:

Test the installation and configuration by invoking i.cgi from within a web browser by entering the URL to i.cgi with parameters using the syntax in the example in the USAGE section below. First test passing valid parameters, then test passing invalid parameters to assure installation and configuration is correct. It is recommended that you test each possible valid value upon initial installation, and perform function and regression testing each time a new valid value is added to the website configuration.

Add hyperlinks within static pages and dynamic page templates to point to i.cgi with the appropriate parameters to yield the desired result.

USAGE:

Following successful installation and satisfaction of dependencies and requirements, "i.cgi" should be invoked via the GET method passing a valid item ID name value pair as input using the name "i", and optionally a template identifier name value pair as input using the name "t" with valid values of "1" (default if "t" not specified) or "2". And, test invoking "i.cgi" without input parameters to test Display All processing.

EXAMPLE:

Specify the domain URL to the location where i.cgi resides; i.e.,

	http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-bin/pg/i.cgi 

Without parameters resulting in an All Items List being generated:

	i.cgi 

With parameters:

	i.cgi?i=x
	i.cgi?i=x&t=1
	i.cgi?i=x&t=2

where "x" equals a valid ITEM_NUM
where "t=1" means use the default template
where "t=2" means use the secondary template

all values are contained in the IID (Item Information Dataset)