What is FME?

FME (the �Feature Manipulation Engine�) was designed to overcome many of the problems
associated with traditional translation methods.
Traditionally the software used to translate geographic data to a different format had limited
capabilities. Most of the data would be forced through a limited data model causing much of the
meaning to be lost in translation. We call this a �thin-pipe translation�.

What is Spatial ETL?

FME was the first tool designed to be a Spatial ETL application. ETL (Extract, Transform and
Load) can be described as a data warehousing tool that extracts data from a source, transforms it
to fit the users� needs, and then loads it into a destination or data warehouse.
Spatial ETL tools can read, write, and manipulate spatial data. While an ETL tool must have
processing capabilities for the various column types that are in a non-spatial database or system,
a spatial ETL tool must also have the spatial operations – geoprocessing capabilities that change
the structure and representation of spatial data � needed to move data from one spatial database
or GIS to another.

How Does FME Work?

FME has a number of key characteristics:
Centralized
FME is a central engine amongst a whole array of supported formats (right). Data can be read
from any format and written to any other. This means adding support for a new format
automatically adds support to convert that data to or from any existing format.
Semantic
FME has a rich data model designed to cover all possible geometry and attribute types. Data will
not lose meaning as it is read. The only limitations are those inherent in the destination format,
and, where possible, FME will automatically compensate to create a seamless translation process.
Thick-Pipe
The �T� in ETL is what traditional format translators lack. FME provides tremendous
transformation functionality, resulting in output that can be much greater than the sum of the
inputs.