Jump to content
When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
  • Current Donation Goals

Rep finder tool


Recommended Posts

I'm thinking out developing a rep finder tool for the community as described here: http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/158788-find-your-rep-panerai/

Since there aren't many reactions, I post it here in the General discussion area, so maybe other people will see it.

Please give me your thoughts. I'm not asking for your money, just your opinion!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are you going to limit your database index only to those dealers on RWG (so buyers can be reasonably confident in the quality of the reps found) or will it be global, encompassing any rep sellers found on the Web?

It will be limited for RWG members and hidden from search engines (Google etc.) and only watches from TD's will be listed.

Buying with 100% confidence for everyone is my goal!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In that case, it sounds like a good idea. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

If successful, it might be worthwhile considering something similar to search gens & gen parts on the major gen sites (TZ, VRF, Rolexforums, etc).

I want to develop a platform that can be expandable in any direction
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds like great work there!! Good on you sir, will help a lot of us, especially the noobs!! Maybe a pinned thread in the intro forum could be in order?! Then they can find their own chuffing best Sub!!

Sixx. :bones:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the idea of this.

 

So to get the idea straight in my head, you would select 1 or more parameters about the watch you want, it would then present you with a list of watches that fulfill those parameters and the name and a link to the dealer(s) that sell it?

 

It would be good if the UI can narrow down the other fields interactively based on what you have already chosen, i.e. if it were cars, if you selected 2 doors it would automatically eliminate all car ranges that do not have a 2 door model in that range.

 

Or from a watch point of view, if you selected chronograph it would automatically remove all watch makers (and watch maker series) that do not have chronographs anywhere in them.

 

I would also like to see it have a selectable option (DE-selected by default) that will make it list NON-TDs. These dealers would obviously be the ones that 'n' (say 3) members have successfully purchased from in the past.

 

Lastly, would the tool automatically crawl the dealers to build up it's database of watches?

 

I imagine having a master table of watches that has all the gen models from all manufacturers, and then as watches are found on the TDs sites it could perform feature mapping based on keywords found, and if a certain confidence has been reached it would decide that that rep is available from that dealer.

 

Sounds like a cool project, but not a trivial one! :)

 

Gimme a shout if you need any help. (so long as it's in C++ or C# on an MS platform)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the idea of this.

So to get the idea straight in my head, you would select 1 or more parameters about the watch you want, it would then present you with a list of watches that fulfill those parameters and the name and a link to the dealer(s) that sell it?

It would be good if the UI can narrow down the other fields interactively based on what you have already chosen, i.e. if it were cars, if you selected 2 doors it would automatically eliminate all car ranges that do not have a 2 door model in that range.

Or from a watch point of view, if you selected chronograph it would automatically remove all watch makers (and watch maker series) that do not have chronographs anywhere in them.

I would also like to see it have a selectable option (DE-selected by default) that will make it list NON-TDs. These dealers would obviously be the ones that 'n' (say 3) members have successfully purchased from in the past.

Lastly, would the tool automatically crawl the dealers to build up it's database of watches?

I imagine having a master table of watches that has all the gen models from all manufacturers, and then as watches are found on the TDs sites it could perform feature mapping based on keywords found, and if a certain confidence has been reached it would decide that that rep is available from that dealer.

Sounds like a cool project, but not a trivial one! :)

Gimme a shout if you need any help. (so long as it's in C++ or C# on an MS platform)

As far as the filters and parameterd you're absolutely right!

I'll start with filtering on Panerais first, and if thats a succes I'll start adding other (popular) brands with a lot of watches: AP, Rolex, Hublot(?) etc

The part with crawling TD's and stuff is maybe a feature for the future. I have to figure out as well if it is permitted by law to point out where to buy reps. I don't feel like going to jail, yet

Edited by markiemark
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll start with filtering on Panerais first, and if thats a succes I'll start adding other (popular) brands with a lot of watches: AP, Rolex, Hublot(?) etc

 

 

Would be great if you add Hublot to the tool! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

One more question guys:

Who's Panerais should I use for the database? All the ones listed on Puretime? Or from another TD?

All TD's have all available rep panerais listed right?

 

Use the full list of gens.

 

Then a dealer can stop / start doing a particular rep and you'll always have it in the database.

 

Things like fantasy reps will need to be handled differently and might be a bit of a pain to maintain but not impossible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Eek, that's not an inconsiderable sum of money.

Won't your ISP let you run a server 24/7 from home? Or is the speed too low?

I've run loads of servers from home for the past 15 years with no problems. Not high traffic, but enough to make it worthwhile :)

Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No no, this is 'normal'. I've been in the web business all my life. I know about those free and cheap ones. But my platform has special needs, so I needed at least these extensions: PDO_MySQL, simplexml, mcrypt, hash, GD, DOM, iconv, and curl. Not to mention all other "special" needs. This server can handle lots of traffic, has a terrifying up/download, and has a high memory limit.

So no worry guys ;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DO_MySQL, simplexml, mcrypt, hash, GD, DOM, iconv, and curl. Not to mention all other "special" needs. 

So no worry guys ;-)

I hope you know what you're doing, I'm lost :p

Good luck Mark! Very curious about this project!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Update fellas:

The server is configured very nice. It is running smooth and fast. And can handle loads off traffic ;-)

I bought myself a nice domain name for it and configured it so that it will redirect to my dedicated server where the platform is hosted.

The visual design is 75% done and the platform is 80% done.

Now I'm adding all watch attributes, adding all attribute options which is ALOT of work! After that I will insert all PAMs, implement the visual design and fine tweak the platform.

Stay tuned...

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...
Please Sign In or Sign Up