Monday, July 30, 2007

FME 4.1 Translator DLL problem

[Update: 07Sep2007 - see the comments below about additional information about where to find sworldswaf.dll files and which one to use where.]

I tried to use the FME 4.1 SWAF interface today and ran into a problem where the FME clients (eg., Universal Viewer) could not recognize any of the data dictionary information queued up in Smallworld for export to FME. I contacted GE Help Desk and they were very quick (on the order of minutes) to send me a new sworldswaf.dll file that must be copied into the FME root folder (eg., c:\program files\fme). This fixed the problem with the FME 4.1 interface but then introduced the problem for the FME 4.0 SWAF interface. Not that big a deal unless you are running two versions of SWAF with the same FME clients.

Interesting notes about the DLL versions. The FME 4.1 documentation says that you need to be running FME 2006 GB build 2651 at a minimum with version 1.1.0.0 of sworldswaf.dll. The version of the DLL that shipped with my version of FME build 2651 was 1.0.1.0. Either the documentation has a typo or Safe Software does not have the latest version of the DLL. Anyways, the version of the DLL that the GE Help Desk sent me was 1.0.0.11 (that's right, it seems like an earlier version number). Apparently this DLL is still too new to have made it onto either GE or Safe Software's web sites. You will need to log a case with the GE Help Desk to get the correct DLL.

On a related note: One of my Smallworld-FME presentations was accepted to the 2007 Americas Smallworld Users Conference in Colorado this year. I hope to see alot of you there. More about that later.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

FME 2007 can be used with either Sworld 4.0 or Sworld 4.1 - and we would certainly recommend using FME 2007 over FME 2006GB. It's just a matter of getting the correct dll from GE support for the version of Smallworld you are using.
Mark Stoakes
Safe Software Inc.

Alfred Sawatzky said...

And important update to FME/Smallworld is described in the FME Talk Group at FME2007 and Smallworld - important update.

While GE's FME for 4.1 documentation states that the Magik interface works with FME 2006 GB, Safe Software states (click here for related FAQ) that support for CST 4.1 started with FME 2007.

So, here are the possible Smallworld/FME scenarios you need to be aware of...

FME2007 with CST 4.0: Click here for information about correct DLL)
FME2007 with CST 4.1: Click here for information about correct DLL)
CST 4.1 with pre-FME2007: See the original post for a discussion of what DLL to use.

[UPDATE: I have become a bit confused with what DLL goes with what FME/Smallworld version combinations. It seems that the original DLL I received from GE and the two DLLs that Safe has made available all have the same version number (1.0.0.11) but different dates/sizes. I have asked Safe for a clarification so that we can definitively say which sworldswaf.dll version goes with which FME/Smallworld version]

Anonymous said...

The v4.1 DLL arrived at the same time as FME2007 was released - so it couldn't have been included with 2006GB.

I think the confusion is because it is backwards compatible with previous versions, so you can install it into an older version such as 2006GB if required.

When Mark S is back from the UC I'll talk with him about DLL version numbers.

Mark

Mark Ireland
Safe Software Inc.