Creating a Product Database for Dreamweaver MX

[antibrandcorp]

Hi, I'm really new to datadriven websites and access

I'm really stuck with all this normalisation and relationships with database structure and wondered if anyone could help.

I need to make a product Database.

Product Name, Product Description, Weight, Price, Size, Colour, Catogory.

NOTE: Not all products have a size or colour, some products are available in more than one colour or size... Help I'm soooo stuck, I dont even know where to start.

Any help would be really cool, many thanks in advance.

I'm using VB-ASP in DMX.

 

[TruthInSatire]

ok
first DWMX is just your tool to create your application. You're not actualy creating it FOR DW, rather in it using ASP.

What i do when i get a new project is think what i'm going to need and program each item one by one keeping in mind it has to work with everything else. example in your application you're going to need

1. Database structure
2. Administration
3. input forms and input record handlers
4. update forms and update record handlers
5. delete forms and delete record handlers
6. desired outputs

next thing we need to know is: is this a shoping cart or are you simply making a site to display your products to customers on the web?

a product view site is simple. put your information in the format you wish to view it in the DB. example:
productName: widget
productSize: 2"x4"
weight: 1lb
price: $40
color: Green, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Orange, Black
Catagory: Misc

output that information into a table formated page and you're about done.
check out

http://www.localwebdev.com/inventory/

I wrote this to display products when a shopping cart isn't needed. you can log in clicking the admin link to see the forms and settings.

if you're making a shopping cart, and you're new to asp good luck. I wouldn't know where to start either.

there are many ways you could handle the color issue.
you could enter all the colors in the db as i did above then loop through the list and create a select box to select one of the colors.

asp in a nutshell by o'reilly is a great book, that's what i used to learn asp as well as most everything i know.


A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
- Quote by Douglas Adams

 

[antibrandcorp]

I already have some Cart extensions that seem to work OK, so that bit was easy, my problem is if the product colours. WHat if one product is Blue and Red, and available in size small and large, and then there is another product that's only one colour but is available in single, double and kingsize.

I need to be able to have all these colour and size details to fill dropdown boxes dyanically in my webpages.

Is this making sense?

 

[Cheech]

your main product table would have a unique id for each product, then you have entries in a colour table 1 entry for each colour that the product is available in then populate your dynamic lists from this table.

Cheech

[Peace][Pipe]
If you don't stand up for something, you'll fall down. Toke it Easy.
Howard Marks.

 

[TruthInSatire]

yeah do what cheech said. Its a bit easier. Both would work, i'm more of a scripting person so I tend to think more along those lines. So much of a scripting person, i tend to forget how strong SQL and linked tables can be.

A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.
- Quote by Douglas Adams

 

[antibrandcorp]

Is there any way that I can show you guys the database as it stands so maybe someone can show me where it's all going wrong?


Thanks,

Carl.

 

[Cheech]

I thought that the database stood as it is at the beginning of the post. What you actually need is:

tbl_product 1 Entry per product
fldProdID = Unique ID
fldProduct_Name = name of the product
fldProduct_Description = Product Description
fldWeight = Weight of the Product
fldPrice = Price
fldCatogory = The Catogory of the product

tbl_size an entry for each size a product is available in
fldPrdID = ref from tbl_product
fldSize = Each size a product is available in

tbl_colour an entry for each colour a product is available in
fldPrdID = ref from tbl_product
fldColour = Each colour a product is available in

Cheech

[Peace][Pipe]
If you don't stand up for something, you'll fall down. Toke it Easy.
Howard Marks.

 

[antibrandcorp]

OK cool, I'm going to rebuild the database and see what happens.

Thanks for the help so far, I;m sure there will be more issues though.

 

[antibrandcorp]

I have rebuilt the database exactly like Cheech has said although I still have issues?, how do I add size and colour details to the products?

Thanks.

 

[lebisol]

read through the this :

http://tdsf.co.uk/tdsfdemo/

and look at the DB structure.
All the best!

> need more info?
:: don't click HERE ::