Dynamic data display- and working around SQL lite

[VDCUSA]

hello out there. Has anyone run into this, and/or have any ideas for work around?
Management NOT happy with just the product (sku level) emphasis of shopsite displays- i.e, Women's Health, with just a running list of skus assigned to that page. They want to see contextual results and displays. Want to see site visitors have the ability to navigate our offerings in many ways.
ex: we create a Shop by Brand page
They want to display an A - Z list. and then, each letter clicked (you select "C") then display all brands that begin with the letter C. Each display item is a unique identifier, and hyperlinks through to a page that displays all skus that have that brand's skus. So- say you picked
Shop by Brand > C
C brands display, You select Countrylife,
All Countrylife skus display

I am very familiar with doing this at asp page, by calling the query to a SQL database, then display results.
Given that ShopSite uses SQL lite, I can not then structure my website, and utilize the dir structure present at hosting account (Windows hosting, VERIO).

All my pages in Shopsite are .asp. I don't see why I can't create a dir a level above the /shopsite_sc/ dir, but then I run into maintaining two databases with matching, accurate information. IF both were SQL, no problem.
But this SQL Lite stuff...how to get around it? ANY and ALL ideas so very welcome. I think we are up to this list in shopsite workarounds: breadcrumbs (page based), cart header and footer workarounds- for possible info trade/barter (lol). just sayin= we might be able to offer some help on some other part we worked out already.
ok- desperate times. appreciate any and all help. thanks!

[robm]

You could use the Auto XML download feature of ShopSite Pro to download your products data from ShopSite into a (My)SQL database. This could be scripted and run every hour for example using a cron / task scheduler to keep things updated. Then just build your dynamic pages by querying the SQL database directly.

This way you only have to keep ShopSite up to date, but can still take advantage of dynamic pages.

[VDCUSA]

Thanks Rob- I thought we were looking at writing some XML because of the sql lite bit, but wasn't sure best way to proceed...still, at least it provides some ability to serve the data in a more robust fashion.
Very much appreciate your taking the time to reply and your help! sincerely, Michelle

[RedSyntax]

An automated XML download solution, still requires the maintenance of two separate and distinct databases. In essence dynamic content requires the Development and maintenance of two sites one static and the other dynamic--this is rather unfortunate.

It is what it is and as you suggested; any site seeking the features and user experiences found with "Real" e-commerce sites will have to take on the undeniable and inexcusable extra development burden.

[robm]

An automated XML download solution, still requires the maintenance of two separate and distinct databases. In essence dynamic content requires the Development and maintenance of two sites one static and the other dynamic--this is rather unfortunate.

It is what it is and as you suggested; any site seeking the features and user experiences found with "Real" e-commerce sites will have to take on the undeniable and inexcusable extra development burden.

ShopSite can create any type of page, so you could publish dynamic pages (php, asp) and using standard php/asp code you could create dynamic elements without the need for two databases. With a small php/asp script, you can easily sync a separate MySQL database and automate this so no maintenance is needed. You then query against this database if you need further functionality.

ShopSite is a solid e-commerce application that supports a multitude of uses. It allows developers to expand its use with API hooks and standard SQL support. The use of SQLite internally by ShopSite allows the software to be platform indepdenent and self-contained; not relying on any specific server side technology.