In this episode, we're diving into how to set up product stock for our e-commerce platform. We start off by clarifying an important point—stock needs to be managed for each specific product variation (like "Black Nike Air Force Ones in size 8"), not just for each product as a whole. This means we'll be tracking inventory at a very granular level.
We go step-by-step through building the stocks table in our database, tying each stock record to a specific variation and recording the amount in stock. Instead of simply incrementing and decrementing a single stock field, we opt for a more robust approach: adding records for both additions and subtractions to keep a clear history (sort of like a mini ledger). For example, if someone buys two items, we add a -2 record, which makes tallying the current stock as simple as summing all the entries for that variation.
After setting up the table and relationships in our models, we quickly check how to sum up the stock for each variation, showing this can instantly reflect changes like stock additions or checkouts. We also brainstorm how this gets reflected in the UI—eventually showing low/out-of-stock statuses and disabling dropdown options for variations that aren't available.
By the end of the episode, we've laid the groundwork for a flexible and trackable stock management system, setting us up for more advanced features like dynamic dropdowns based on stock levels. On to making our product selection smarter!