[TYPO3] tt_products db table confusion

[W van Bruggen]

Hello list,

I've been trying to work out how products are stored in the database
concerning the tt_products plugin, to see if I make it easier for
users to import their complete inventory (if anyone has any experience
on this matter, information is appreciated). I'm however unsure which
table actually stores the product information used in the site. In the
database I found the tables tt_products and tt_products_articles. The
tt_products table seems to have all the article information (including
information on categories for example) and the tt_products_articles
table also contains most article information (but for example misses
the category information).

What exactly is the relationship between these two tables? As far as I
can tell now information on articles is stored redundantly in two
tables, but is that really necessary?

With kind regards,
Wietse