Oracle Spatial GeoRaster Reader/Writer

Licensing options for reading this format begin with FME Professional Edition.

Licensing options for writing this format begin with FME Database Edition.

Format Notes

Raster Support

Raster writing is available only with FME Database Edition

Raster data is supported only for Oracle 10g and above.

Oracle Instant Client

Instant Client can be used to run your OCI, OCCI, JDBC, and ODBC applications without installing a full Oracle Client. Instant Client supports SQL*Plus.

See the FME Community for more information on how Instant Client works with FME.

Oracle Wallet

 To use an Oracle Wallet with FME, leave the Username and Password parameters empty, and enter the name of the Oracle Wallet as the value of the Service Name or Easy Connect parameter.

Overview

The Oracle Spatial GeoRaster Reader/Writer module enables FME to read and write GeoRaster and attribute data stored using Oracle Spatial. This module communicates directly with Oracle Spatial for maximum throughput.

If you are reading or writing attributes only, use the FME Oracle Non-Spatial Reader/Writer module.

This section assumes familiarity with Oracle Spatial, its GeoRaster support, and its indexing mechanisms.

Tip: The FeatureReader transformer performs queries against any FME-supported format.

Reader Overview

This reader reads GeoRaster tables from Oracle Spatial databases.

Writer Overview

The Oracle Spatial GeoRaster writer module stores raster and attribute data in an Oracle Spatial database. Only uppercase table names are supported.

Transaction Support

The Oracle Spatial GeoRaster writer provides transaction support that eases the data loading process. Occasionally, a data load operation terminates prematurely due to data difficulties. The transaction support provides a mechanism for reloading corrected data without data loss or duplication.
Table Creation

The Oracle Spatial GeoRaster writer uses the information within the FME mapping file to automatically create database tables as needed. Creation of related tables is also supported, such as the Raster Data Table (RDT) for GeoRaster columns. Metadata tables and triggers are also created or updated accordingly.
Table Dropping

The Oracle Spatial GeoRaster writer has a parameter that allows each table to be written to be dropped if recreating, or truncated if appending. Metadata information is updated using triggers for rasters. Likewise, related tables, such as RDTs for GeoRaster columns will be dropped when empty. Metadata tables are updated via DML triggers, however the triggers themselves are not currently dropped.
Index Creation

The Oracle Spatial GeoRaster writer will set up and populate all needed indexes and index tables as part of the loading process.
Bulk Loading

The Oracle Spatial GeoRaster writer uses a bulk loading technique to ensure speedy data load.
Raster Interleaving

Raster data can be written using Band SeQuential (BSQ), Band Interleaved by Line (BIL) or Band Interleaved by Pixel (BIP) interleaving. The default interleaving is BSQ.
Raster Pyramid Generation

Native pyramid generation can be performed as a post-process once writing is complete. Number of levels and the resampling type can be optionally specified.
Raster Validation

Native validation can optionally be performed as a post-process once writing is complete.
Raster Compression

Native DEFLATE, JPEG-B and JPEG-F compression can optionally be performed as a post-process once writing is complete.

Note: Repeatedly reading and saving data may decrease the data quality for this format. In addition, FME Workbench may not know which format the data comes from, and whether it is the output of lossy compression. If you know that source data comes with lossy compression, you should also set the compression level to 0 or None. Although this compression setting still does not guarantee the exact copy of the source data, the output will be very close to the original.

FME Raster Features

FME raster features represent raster data and use several concepts that are unlike those used in the handling of vector data.

For comprehensive information about how FME processes raster data, see Rasters.

Oracle supports rasters with an arbitrary number of bands, provided all bands are the same data type. Any number of bands may optionally have a palette.

Oracle supports reading and writing 1-, 2-, and 4-bit rasters. Note that the smallest data type supported by FME is 1 byte (8 bits). Thus, on reading, 1-, 2-, and 4-bit rasters are automatically converted to 8 bits. On writing, an option is provided to reduce the size of 8-bit rasters to 1, 2, or 4 bits.