The Product entity is a complex foundation entity, used to support Products, Merchandise, Services and their variations in a unified way.

At the "heart" of the entity is the dbProduct table  - not to be confused with the Product Entity.


Every product has one [and only one] record in the dbProduct table.


  • dbProduct.nProductPK is the PK of the dbProduct table - it is an 8 byte int [auto],
  • all other fields are self explanatory or are documented in their functional area.


Note: We are using the name Product in a "lose way".

In some cultures( or languages) the word Product has a more strict meaning.

Here it can be a Merchandise or a Item that we Produce or even a Service that we sell or buy.


"Around" this entity, are various Dimension tables - like dbProductCategory - connected by FKs, with or without RI constraints.

You can find more information about this entity in the WX Analysis [or the SQL Schema].


* Not using RI Constraints, for some "virtual links," gives a programmer a lot of flexibility - especially in the Query Editor,

But a RI constraint must then be implemented in code ..


*Paradigm of Virtual link and RI

If you Delete a dbProduct record you must delete, with code, any "linked" dbProduct_Photos.

Additions and Edits are not affected. 

 


Simple Diagram of Product Entity

* the above diagram is NOT complete - for more information see the database schema.