Module Review

This chapter looked at advanced techniques for handling attributes in FME.

What You Should Have Learned from this Module

The following are key points to be learned from this session:

Theory

• Attributes can be constructed either with a series of transformers or inside a single transformer using Text and Arithmetic editors.
• Constructing an attribute as a series of transformers is more self-documenting, but a single transformer is more elegant and reduces canvas clutter.
• Conditional Values are when an author constructs an attribute according to a number of test conditions.
• Multiple Feature Attributes is a technique where any feature can access the attributes of previous or subsequent features.
• Null attributes are those whose state indicates lack of a value.

FME Skills

• The ability to construct attributes with either the Text or Arithmetic editors.
• The ability to apply conditional attribute values, and the knowledge to know when this is a good approach.
• The ability to use Multiple Feature Attributes.
• The ability to use test for null values, and change values to or from null.

Further Reading

For further reading take a look at articles tagged with Null on our blog, or this article on Adjacent Feature Attributes.