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Table design for database driven catalog
I am trying to design a database to store information on products that
will need to be output into varoious print catalogs. Here is my starting point. tblItems ++++++++++ ItemId ItemName ItemDesc TableData1 TableData2 etc. tblItemGroups +++++++++++ ItemGroupId ItemGroupDesc ItemGroupPicture TableHeading1 TableHeading2 etc. Note: TableHeading1 is a heading for a table column that will be populated with rows from tblItems field TableData1. tblCatalogs ++++++++++ CatalogId CatalogName CatalogPrintDate Here is where I am struggling... I need to define which items a catalog will contain. tblCatalogContents +++++++++++++++ CatalogContentsId CatlogId ItemGroupId But say I have the following item groups and items: Batteries AA Battery C Battery D Battery Flashlights "C" Cell Flashlight "D" Cell Flashlight Penlights "AA" Cell Penlight In my retail catalog I want to display an Item Group showing all of my Batteries in a table below the Item Group Picture which is no problem, but for my Flashlight Item Group I want to show the Picture and both of my Flashlights in the table but I also wanted to have the "C Battery" and the "D Battery" listed in the table. I can figure how to do this but I'd like to be more flexible, so that in my wholsale catalog the Flashlights are in the table but not the batteries. I can't figure out a way to relate this. Thanks in advance for your help. Steve P. |
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Table design for database driven catalog
We're doing Access based catalogs here similar to what you describe.
I think that you are saying is that the only difference between the catalogs is which items are included. If you have only 2 or 3 different types of catalogs, I'd recommend putting a field for each type of catalog in your items records which indicates whether or no that particular item is included in that particular catalog. This presumes an approach that group headers will print if and only if at least one item for that group is included. Also that each printing / edition would just get stored as a pdf instead of getting databased separately. If so, you won't have those catalog tables, except possible as an independent list. If you are going to databses each edition of each catalog type as a seperate catalog, you are going to have lots and lots of data entry work, and forget everything that I said. Later on you might find that you'll want other things (besides just includsion/exclusion of items) change between catalogs, but that's another story. |
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