Data Download Service

The Data Download Service provides users with the output from a workspace as a downloadable zip file. Typically the service allows users to specify the data layers, format and coordinate system for the download.

This service is requested using a URL or a form. For example:

http://<host>/fmedatadownload/<repository>/<workspace>.fmw?<parameters>

A web page opens with a link to a zip file containing the results of the workspace translation. In addition, an email can be sent with a link to the zip file.

The download is returned as a zip (compressed archive) file for the following reasons:

  • The result is a number of output datasets (not just one dataset).
  • Folder-based datasets do not consist of a single file; for example, ESRI Shape format has files with the extension .shp, .shx, .dbf, and some others.
  • Even file-based datasets may consist of more than one file; for example, a GML dataset includes both a GML file and an XSD (XML Schema Definition) file.

Note: The zip file from workspaces that write multiple datasets to a fanout directory is comprised of multiple folders that contain the separate datasets. These folders are contained within a single folder whose name is based on the Destination Fanout Directory.

FME Server can also provide output that is not zipped by using the Data Streaming service.

The Data Upload Service works in conjunction with the Data Download, Data Streaming, and Job Submitter services to upload files.

Requirements

This service works with any workspace that writes single or multiple files. No published parameters are required. It is not possible to run a data download on a workspace whose destination is a database format.

Note: You may want to publish some parameters from your workspace to control the translation from the URL or form request. For example, feature types to read, output coordinate system, and format (generic writer) are commonly published parameters when using this service.

Service Specific Request Parameters

Name

Value

Description

opt_responseformat

xml | json
Default: xml

The language of the response. The text must be all lowercase.

opt_geturl The URL to a dataset The URL of the source dataset to be used for transformation
opt_showresult true | false Whether the XML/JSON responses include the FME transformation result. The default value is true if this parameter is not present.
opt_servicemode sync | async | schedule

Toggles between synchronous and asynchronous modes of the service. When jobs are submitted asynchronously (async), the response of submission success or failure is returned immediately. When set to synchronous (sync), the response is not returned until the job completes.

Or, schedules a data download request to run at a specified start time (one-time only). If schedule is specified, see below for additional parameters.

opt_requesteremail comma-separated email addresses Addresses to which the notification email messages are sent.

Notification Directives

This service supports Notification Directives.

Scheduling a Data Download Request

Using opt_servicemode=schedule, you can schedule a data download request to run once at a specified start time. The following additional parameters are required:

Name Value Description
trigger runonce Indicates the job is scheduled to run once. Only runonce is supported.
start <yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss> the date/time to run the job. If the date/time is earlier than the current time, the job runs immediately.
category <category _name> The name of the general category or group to which the task belongs.
name <schedule name> The name of the task. Names must be unique within a category. After a task scheduled to run once is finished, it is authomatically removed.
description <description> The description of the task.

Using Remote Data During a Request

Using data from HTTP POST body as Reader dataset

This web service can receive data and override source dataset via HTTP POST. The content of the POST request body will be saved to a temporary file which will be used as the Reader dataset of the workspace. If there is more than one reader in the workspace, then you will need to indicate which reader will use the temporary file. You indicate your choice when publishing the workspace by editing the service registration.

Using data from HTTP GET as Reader dataset

This web service can receive data and override Reader dataset via HTTP GET. The dataset should be specified as a URL and passed to service by 'opt_geturl' parameter. Both HTTP and FTP URLs are supported. If there is more than one reader in the workspace, then you will need to indicate which reader will use the temporary file. You indicate your choice when publishing the workspace by editing the service registration.

For example here is a service request that uses a remote KMZ dataset:

http://<host>/fmedatadownload/Test/Viewer.fmw?opt_geturl=http://data.vancouver.ca/download/kml/elementary_school_boundaries.kmz

Response Elements

If the response format is specified as XML or JSON, a service response may contain the elements shown in the following table:

Element

Child Elements

Value

Description

statusInfo

message

message string

service failure message

status

success | failure

service status

mode

sync | async

service mode

fmeTransformationResult

fmeServerResponse

FME Server response properties

FME Server response

fmeEngineResponse

FME Engine response properties

FME Engine response

email

none

Email addresses

Requesters’ email addresses

url

none

URL string

URL used to download the result dataset (ZIP)

jobID

none

job ID

The current job identifier

Enabling E-Mail Notifications

The data download service can send email messages to notify you when a job completes successfully or unsucessfully. If a job completes successfully, the email provides a clickable link or a zip file to download the data.

For more information, see Configuring FME Server to Send Email Notifications.

See Also