No, not at all! This gets difficult to explain, but it's like this...
Each transformer has a version number. When you place a transformer it is the version from that build. That transformer then ALWAYS stays the same version. So, open a 2006 workspace in 2007, and the 2006 transformers are NOT updated automatically. Now, when we edit/update a transformer the version number increases. So place a transformer in 2007 and the version may be different. But, save the workspace, and the old transformer version stays old. Why do we do this? So you can be sure that what worked for you once, will always work in the same way, and that you can return that workspace to an older build (in this case 2006) and it will still work (unless you've made 2007 specific edits - such as added a new version of the transformer)! So you can have a workspace containing a number of the same transformer, but each with different versions. Confusing, but essentially not a problem for FME, and rarely an issue for the user. However, to complicate matters, transformers are based on factories and functions. The factory can change, and this might affect how the transformer operates, whatever version you have. But normally there are no factory changes made that would impact older transformers, except for bug fixes. We don't even like fixing things that are obvious problems when we think that users might have some to rely on the old (bad) behaviour. Hope this helps to explain. Mark --- In [email protected], "Jason Birch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi Mark, > > I think I have seen a case where, while an old workspace does run via > the new build of FME, just opening and saving the workspace in a new > version breaks it. If I remember correctly, it was a > NullAttributeReplacer that I had set up to replace nulls with a single > space or a blank (or something like that). Unfortunately, I have no > idea whether the original was created in a beta version or not, and I'm > certainly not going to hold you to backwards compatibility on random > beta builds :) > > In general though, if you open a workspace in Workbench and save it, > does this backwards compatibility contract go out the window? So... If > you have to modify a workspace, you have to revisit it entirely to > ensure that it's compliant with current practice? I know that old > transformers have typically continued to work in newer, edited > workspaces, as have older data sources... > > Jason > > -----Original Message----- > From: mark2atsafe > Subject: [fme] Re: Variables and AttributeCreator > > Absolutely not. Repeat NOT. FME will always be backwards compatible, so > what you have in old workspaces will always work in a newer build. > > If you have an old workspace that doesn't produce the same result in a > newer FME, then that's the time to call support and get it fixed. > > As to these changes, yes we are greatly trying to remove this sort of > hack. Partly because sometimes you need to use @ or & just for their own > sake and not as functions, but also because we don't think our users > should have to do things like that. > > So, as Jason said, whenever we disallow use of a function call within a > transformer, there should always be an alternate method to get the same > result. For example, there is now the FMEFunctionCaller transformer to > call a function, and the ParameterFetcher to grab the value of a > parameter (macro). Again, if there's no replacement for what you need > then it's time to call support (or ask this group for > advice) > > Hope this helps to explain it all. > For insights into what's up at Safe Software and what's on the development horizon, visit Safe's blog at spatial-etl.blogspot.com. Safe Software has also made slides available that outline enhancements planned for FME 2007. The slides are from the "Road Ahead" presentation given on Day 2 of the FME Worldwide Users Conference. To view these slides, visit www.safe.com/2006uc. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fme/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fme/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
