Hi all-
I'm having trouble with the structural logic for a product code builder
I'm attempting to implement in FileMaker. Here's what I want: The user
selects a product, selects it's various options, and is given a product
code. For example, a yellow number two pencil might be "PY2" while a
green number four pencil would be "PG4". Each of these options would
also have an associated cost, for example, choosing a green pencil
might add $1 to the total cost, while choosing yellow would add $.50.

So far I have achieved this level of functionality by having a Model
table for each product, related to a child table Model_Options, which
is then related to a child Model_Options_Value_List table. So, in the
previous example the Pencil record in the Model table would have child
records in the Model_Options table with description fields like "Color"
and "Number", and an Output field which is set according to the
Model_Options_Value_List table. The related Model_Options_Value_List
table would then have records with descriptions like "Yellow" and
"Green" or "Two" and "Four", corresponding with Output fields like "Y",
"G", "2", and "4". The part number is then built using an AppendNth
function on the related Model_Options::Output fields. So far so good.

But then, I realized that for some products, the attributes are not
independent of each other. For example, choosing Green for the pencil
color might add $1 if the pencil is Number Two, but add $3 if the
pencil is Number Four. Or for a more realistic example, choosing
ExtremeTread Tires adds $50 on a 20" bicycle, but adds $75 on a 24".

Has this capability of attributes affecting other attributes completely
invalidated my previous design, as I suspect? Any ideas as to a new
structure that would facilitate this? Any advice at all would be very
appreciated.
Thanks tons,
Nate