Thoughts on setting this up?

[dodgyJim]

Hi all,

Having a few issues trying to work out the best way to set this db up.

I am still fairly new to it all so maybe I am trying to analyze this too hard...you know, can't see the forest for the trees etc.

[b]General Product Data[/b]
Product Name - varchar
Height - varchar
Width - varchar
Small Image - varchar
Large Image - varchar

[b]Colour Options[/b]
White - boolean (yes/no option only)
Custom - boolean
Anodised - boolean

[b]Diffusers[/b]
Clear Reeded - boolean
Opal - boolean
Aluminium Louvre - boolean
Low Brightness Louvre - boolean

[b]Bends[/b]
90 degree - boolean
45 degree - boolean
X Bend - boolean
T Bend - boolean
Custom Angled Bend - boolean




My initial plan was to stick it all into a massive table and enter in every product feature and hard code it to the page but then if the customer comes up with a new feature for a product I have to go back and add another field to the table and edit the page and queries etc. There's got to be a better way.

My first thought was to have a product table with the basic info and then another table with the feature in it, then I could reference each item according to it's ID in a third table.

tblproduct
id
name
height
width
etc

tblfeature
id
cat_id
name
image
etc

tbldata
id
prod_id
feat_id



If anyone has any ideas that could prod me along in the right direction it would be most appreciated.

cheers.

[wickning1]

You're already heading in the right direction. It can become as complex as you allow it to become. Just be sure to stop somewhere so your software doesn't become vaporware. :)

[dodgyJim]

[!--quoteo(post=359467:date=Mar 29 2006, 09:05 AM:name=wickning1)--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(wickning1 @ Mar 29 2006, 09:05 AM) [snapback]359467[/snapback][/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--quotec--]
You're already heading in the right direction. It can become as complex as you allow it to become. Just be sure to stop somewhere so your software doesn't become vaporware. :)
[/quote]

Yeah since my first post I have been playing with it a bit. Slowly sarting to get somewhere. Got a new requirement that is giving me a headache...time will tell! :)

Thanks for the reply.