This reader allows FME to access Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS) formatted file sets.
Overview
While the SDTS reader should be able to import at least some data from any SDTS data source, it has been tested with USGS DLG dataset which adheres to the SDTS Topological Vector Profile (TVP) and USGS Digital Elevation Model (DEM) datasets that adhere to the SDTS Raster Profile.
More information on the SDTS Format can be found at:
http://mcmcweb.er.usgs.gov/sdts/
Some aspects of an SDTS transfer, such as data quality information, are not accessible via the SDTS reader, but can be extracted using the ISO 8211 reader by a user well-versed in the SDTS format.
Reader Overview
The SDTS Reader module produces FME features for all data within one SDTS transfer, a group of .DDF files identified by the *CATD.DDF file.
The source dataset is the filename of the catalog file relating the files of a single SDTS transfer. This file will usually end in CATD.DDF, and it binds together all the files with a common prefix. For example, a USGS hypsography transfer might have the filename PALO_ALTO\HP01CATD.DDF. All files starting with HP01 would be part of the same transfer.
Each vector object (point, line, or polygon), attribute record of an attribute module or pixel within a raster image is translated into an FME feature.