The Geodatabase reader and writer translates several different types of features:
- table-level metadata
- reading and writing of geometric features such as points, multipoints, polylines, and polygons
- reading and writing of non-spatial table data
- reading and writing of annotations, including leader lines and feature-linked annotations
- reading and writing of dimensions
- reading and writing of geometric network features, including simple junctions, complex junctions (reading only), simple edges and complex edges
- reading and writing of relationships, including attributed relationships
- reading and writing of raster data
- reading and writing of multipatch features, including textured surfaces
The Geodatabase modules also provide the following capabilities:
- Programmatic Table Creation: Tables need not be created before a data import operation. All table creation details are handled by the FME.
- Transaction Support: Transactions are fully supported in Personal and Enterprise Geodatabases, enabling a partially complete load of operation to be resumed later, without the loss or duplication of data.
- Update/Delete Support: In addition to appending features, the Geodatabase writer provides the ability to update and delete existing features in the Geodatabase.
- Attribute Query Support: SQL WHERE clauses can be specified to limit the data being exported.
- Spatial Query Support: FME exploits the spatial query capabilities of Geodatabase using both search envelopes and search features with a multitude of filtering options. This allows greater control to translate only the relevant spatial data.
- Non-Spatial Table Support: Any table can be read or written to a Geodatabase with FME, whether or not it contains spatial data. The FME can read, write, and create regular RDBMS tables (such as those in Oracle) in Geodatabase.
- Versioning Support: FME enables data to be read from a particular transactional version, historical marker, or historical date and time of an Enterprise Geodatabase, and also allows data to be written to a specific transactional version of an Enterprise Geodatabase.
- Fully Automatic Import and Export: FME’s Geodatabase support provides fully automated import and export of data through the FME’s Graphical User Interface (GUI). This is ideal for quick data imports and exports.
- Mapping File Customization: FME’s ability to generate mapping files for user customization allows greater and more precise control over Geodatabase translations.
- Unicode Support: Geodatabase text columns are stored in the UTF-16 encoding. FME can read and write this data.
- Archiving Support: The Geodatabase reader can retrieve archived data from a table that has archiving enabled, through the use of a WHERE clause constrained by the gdb_from_date and gdb_to_date attributes.