Feature Data Objects (FDO) Developer’s Guide March 2008 © 2008 Autodesk, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Except as otherwise permitted by Autodesk, Inc., this publication, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form, by any method, for any purpose. Certain materials included in this publication are reprinted with the permission of the copyright holder. Trademarks The following are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and other countries: 3DEC (design/logo), 3December, 3December.com, 3ds Max, ADI, Alias, Alias (swirl design/logo), AliasStudio, Alias|Wavefront (design/logo), ATC, AUGI, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Learning Assistance, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Simulator, AutoCAD SQL Extension, AutoCAD SQL Interface, Autodesk, Autodesk Envision, Autodesk Insight, Autodesk Intent, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Map, Autodesk MapGuide, Autodesk Streamline, AutoLISP, AutoSnap, AutoSketch, AutoTrack, Backdraft, Built with ObjectARX (logo), Burn, Buzzsaw, CAiCE, Can You Imagine, Character Studio, Cinestream, Civil 3D, Cleaner, Cleaner Central, ClearScale, Colour Warper, Combustion, Communication Specification, Constructware, Content Explorer, Create>what's>Next> (design/logo), Dancing Baby (image), DesignCenter, Design Doctor, Designer's Toolkit, DesignKids, DesignProf, DesignServer, DesignStudio, Design|Studio (design/logo), Design Web Format, DWF, DWG, DWG (logo), DWG Extreme, DWG TrueConvert, DWG TrueView, DXF, Ecotect, Exposure, Extending the Design Team, FBX, Filmbox, FMDesktop, Freewheel, GDX Driver, Gmax, Green Building Studio, Heads-up Design, Heidi, HumanIK, IDEA Server, i-drop, ImageModeler, iMOUT, Incinerator, Inventor, Inventor LT, Kaydara, Kaydara (design/logo), Kynapse, Kynogon, LandXplorer, LocationLogic, Lustre, Matchmover, Maya, Mechanical Desktop, MotionBuilder, Movimento, Mudbox, NavisWorks, ObjectARX, ObjectDBX, Open Reality, Opticore, Opticore Opus, PolarSnap, PortfolioWall, Powered with Autodesk Technology, Productstream, ProjectPoint, ProMaterials, RasterDWG, Reactor, RealDWG, Real-time Roto, REALVIZ, Recognize, Render Queue, Retimer,Reveal, Revit, Showcase, ShowMotion, SketchBook, SteeringWheels, Stitcher, StudioTools, Topobase, Toxik, TrustedDWG, ViewCube, Visual, Visual Construction, Visual Drainage, Visual Landscape, Visual Survey, Visual Toolbox, Visual LISP, Voice Reality, Volo, Vtour, Wiretap, and WiretapCentral. The following are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk Canada Co. in the USA and/or Canada and other countries: Backburner, Discreet, Fire, Flame, Flint, Frost, Inferno, Multi-Master Editing, River, Smoke, Sparks, Stone, and Wire. The following are registered trademarks or trademarks of Moldflow Corp. in the USA and/or other countries: Moldflow, MPA, MPA (design/logo), Moldflow Plastics Advisers, MPI, MPI (design/logo), Moldflow Plastics Insight, MPX, MPX (design/logo), Moldflow Plastics Xpert All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Disclaimer THIS PUBLICATION AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS MADE AVAILABLE BY AUTODESK, INC. "AS IS." AUTODESK, INC. DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE REGARDING THESE MATERIALS. Published By: Autodesk, Inc. 111 Mclnnis Parkway San Rafael, CA 94903, USA Contents Chapter 1 About This Guide . 1 Audience and Purpose . 1 How This Guide Is Organized . 1 What’s New . 3 Chapter 2 Introduction . 5 What Is the FDO API? . 5 From the Perspective of the Client Application User . 5 From the Perspective of the Client Application Engineer . 5 Getting Started . 6 FDO Architecture and Providers . 7 What Is a Provider? . 9 Developing Applications . 11 Chapter 3 FDO Concepts . 13 Data Concepts . 13 Operational Concepts . 18 Chapter 4 Development Practices . 21 Memory Management . 21 Collections . 23 Exception Handling . 23 iii Exception Messages . 24 Managing FdoPtr Behaviors . 25 Chapter 5 Establishing a Connection . 27 Connection Semantics . 27 Establishing a Connection . 29 Chapter 6 FDO Capabilities . 35 FDO Capabilities . 35 Introduction . 35 Provider Type . 36 Command . 37 Connection . 43 Expression . 47 Filter . 74 Geometry . 77 Raster . 78 Schema . 79 Expressible as Boolean . 82 Not Expressible as a Boolean . 83 Chapter 7 Schema Management . 85 Schema Package . 85 Schema Mappings . 87 Schema Overrides . 88 Working with Schemas . 88 FDOFeatureClass . 90 FDOClass . 90 Non-Feature Class Issues . 91 Modifying Models . 94 Schema Element States . 94 Rollback Mechanism . 95 FDO XML Format . 95 Creating and Editing a GML Schema File . 101 Schema Management Examples . 111 Chapter 8 Data Maintenance . 119 Data Maintenance Operations . 119 Inserting Values . 119 Updating Values . 125 Deleting Values . 126 Related Class Topics . 127 iv | Contents Chapter 9 Performing Queries . 129 Creating a Query . 129 Query Example . 130 Chapter 10 Long Transaction Processing . 135 What Is Long Transaction Processing? . 135 Supported Interfaces . 136 Chapter 11 Filter and Expression Languages . 139 Filters . 139 Expressions . 140 Filter and Expression Text . 140 Language Issues . 141 Provider-Specific Constraints on Filter and Expression Text . 141 Filter Grammar . 141 Expression Grammar . 143 Filter and Expression Keywords . 144 Data Types . 144 Identifier . 144 Parameter . 144 String . 144 Integer . 145 Double . 145 DateTime . 145 Operators . 146 Special Character . 147 Geometry Value . 147 Chapter 12 The Geometry API . 151 Introduction . 151 FGF and WKB . 151 FGF Binary Specification . 152 FGF Text . 158 Abstract and Concrete Classes . 158 Geometry Types . 159 Mapping Between Geometry and Geometric Types . 160 Spatial Context . 161 Specify Dimensionality When Creating Geometries Using String Specifications . 161 Inserting Geometry Values . 162 Chapter 13 FDO Cookbook . 163 Introduction . 163 Contents | v Recommendations . 163 Registry . 163 Connection . 164 Capabilities . 168 Data Store . 171 User Management . 173 Spatial Context . 175 Basic Schema Operations . 178 Insert Data . 181 Select Data . 182 Select Aggregate Data . ..