Classes, Custom Fields and Categories

Classes and Categories are two very important concepts to grasp when using Catalog as the line between them can vary from site to site.

Classes and Custom Attributes.

We use Classes in Catalog to identify different kinds of "things".  Typically these things have different sets of customized attributes.

What you call a class will depend on your data but generally a Class will describe a physical or a virutal object.

Categories

Categories allow you to group items together in the same, or different classes.  You could choose a category hierarchy to reflect the way a user would navigate down to the item they are looking for.  Alternatively, categories could be used in an organic way to act more like tags rather than a rigid hierarchy.

Following are some examples of how classes and categories can be mixed and matched.

Real Estate Site

A real estate site may have a single class called Property Listing.  Catalog already has location code for mapping, and some e-commerce variables for storing pricing information so we can save on some fields. The Property Listing class may have many other custom attributes such as the number of bedrooms, number of toilets, whether it includes an enclosed garage, and so on.

Hardware Reviews Site

A reviews site for cameras, computers, and media players may have many classes.  You might have a class for each type of hardware item you are going to review.

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