[Radiant] Page behavior tutorial

[Sean Cribbs]

Chuck Craig wrote:
> Thanks for the info Sean! Ok here's what I want to do. I'm building a 
> website that will require searching the database for books  entered in 
> the admin section. So far I followed the Link Roll tutorial, but used 
> books instead, and was able to add books and display them on a page.
>
> Now I want to create a search box(it will appear on all pages of the 
> site) that will take the user to a page to that will simply display 
> the results of the books found.
>
> I'm currently working on another project that just uses rails and I've 
> implemented searching through the use of a search model and controller 
> that return the results. Would my task be done easier if I just added 
> a similar model and controller to my current extension ( The one for 
> adding and displaying books )?
>
> By the way, the example I've been viewing is the Search extension you 
> created
>
> -Chuck
Either strategy is valid but has its benefits and drawbacks.  A page 
subclass has tighter integration with the front-end design, while a 
separate controller has greater flexibilty but a little more challenging 
integration.  Personally, I would recommend using a combination of 
share_layouts and a custom controller. (We used this extensively on 
redken.com, just check out the products section for an example)  This 
allows you to present your results in a design that resembles the rest 
of your site while retaining the flexibility of a controller.  Also, 
while the search extension might be a good starting point, it has a 
pretty naive search.  Something like Ferret or Sphinx might be a better 
solution down the road.

Cheers,

Sean