Content transformations are those that operate on the geometry or attribute content of a dataset.
A “feature” in FME is an individual item within the translation. Typically a GIS or cartographic feature consists of a geometric representation, plus a set of related attributes. FME is capable of restructuring either of these components.
A feature in FME is the smallest unit of FME data. Features in FME have a flexible, generic representation; in other words they have a basic “FME” definition that is unrelated to their original format.
The term “thick pipe” translation is underscores the content transformation abilities of FME. In other words you can process data during a translation to produce a destination dataset that is greater than the sum of its source components.
Geometric transformation is the term used to describe restructuring of the spatial (or geometric) component of a feature within FME.
Geometric Transformation is the act of restructuring the spatial component of an FME feature. In other words the physical geometry of the feature undergoes some form of change to produce a different output.
Some examples of geometric transformation are…
Generalization – a cartographic process that restructures data to be more easily visualized at a given map scale.
Warping – adjustment of the size and shape of a set of features to more closely match a set of reference data.
Topology Computation – conversion of a set of linear features into a node/line structure
Attribute Transformation is the term used to describe restructuring of the non-spatial (or attribute) component of a feature within FME.
Attribute Transformation is the act of restructuring the non-spatial component of an FME feature. In other words the attributes relating to the physical geometry undergo some form of change to produce a different output.
Some examples of attribute transformation are:
Concatenation – joining together of two or more attributes.
Measurement – measuring a feature’s length or area to create a new attribute
ID Creation – creation of a unique ID number for a particular feature
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Address1 Suite 2017 Address2 7445-132nd Street City Surrey Province British Columbia PostCode V3W 1J8 Concatenate Address1+”, “+Address2+”, “+City+”, “+Province+”, “+PostCode Output Suite 2017, 7445-132nd Street, Surrey, British Columbia, V3W 1J8 |
Above: Example of attribute concatenation. Each line of the address is concatenated, along with some constants to get spaces and commas, to return a single line address.