[ic] Default products options

[Jamie Neil]

I'm developing a catalog that relies heavily on matrix product options, and
seem to be heading down a path where there is a huge amount of duplicate
(redundant) data in the variants table.

For example I have a widget that has 15 different variants, which all cost
£100, have the same tax_category and nontaxable status, and look identical
(same pictures). However, even though they share all these parameters, I
have to enter them into each variant record separately. This makes
maintainance a nightmare - if I want to put the item on sale, I have to put
the sale price in the base product record in products _and_ in each of the
15 variant records too!

What I want to do is allow the base product's fields to act as the default
for it's variants if they have no entry in a particular field. This would
allow me to put the product price in only once (in the products table) and
leave the variant's prices empty, and if one particular variant _did_ have a
different price I could simply add a price for that variant which would
override the default.

Could someone give me an idea how to go about implementing this? Is it going
to require fundemental changes to the IC core or just a new kind of product
option?

Thanks,

Jamie Neil
Versado I.T. Services Ltd.