Smallworld Connection and Translation Errors

FME for Smallworld Connection Errors

Smallworld format greyed out or inaccessible

Symptom: Smallworld reader or writer is not listed in the FME reader or writer format list.
Solution: this might be a mismatch for FME 32 / 64 bit. Smallworld only supports  FME 64 bit for Smallworld 5.2.4 or higher (or for Smallworld 5.1 - Smallworld 5.1.9). Older versions of Smallworld do not support FME 64bit, you must use FME 32bit. Ensure that the sworldswaf.dll and the sworldwaf.fmf files are installed in your version of FME - refer to FME and Smallworld Configuration Options. Ensure the version of the sworldswaf.dll matches your version of Smallworld.

Starting TICS on localhost:30000 using service FMENOFACTORY

Symptom: Error in the FME log and FME hangs.
Solution: Ensure you have the correct dll and metafile for the verison of Smallworld you are using.
Version numbers may be displayed in the FME log file:
Smallworld Reader version: 1.1.0.0
or
Smallworld Translator version: 4.3dev.6

Unable to connect to Smallworld TICS Server. Is it running?

Symptom: Error in the FME log, no features are read and the translation terminates

Unable to connect to Smallworld Server. Is it running?

Solution: Make sure the FME connection service has been started, i.e.

fme_connection_service.start(30000, _unset, :gis)

Refer to the Smallworld Translators Installation documentation

FME cannot connect to the Smallworld VMDS

Symptom: FME returns a series of error messages but does not display the table (object) list. Or you might see an error in the FME log:
Unable to connect to Smallworld Server. Is it running?
or
|WARN |DLL 'C:\Program Files\FME\SWORLDSWAF.dll' was found but could not be loaded.
Ensure that all the dependent modules exist for this DLL
or
Failed to Retrieve Feature Types. Please ensure that the dataset is accessible and has feature types available to read.
And in the log file you see: UniversalReader -- readSchema resulted in 0 schema features being returned

Cause: FME may be using the wrong sworldswaf.dll.
FME 2010 ships with the Smallworld SWAF 4.1 dll as the default dll. If you are still using Smallworld 4.0, then you will have the wrong dll in the FME install. Similarly, FME 2009 shipped with the Smallworld SWAF 4.0 dll as the default dll so Sworld 4.1 users with FME 2009 would also need to switch dlls. Newer versions of FME do not ship with the SWAF dll and you need to obtain those from the Smallworld translator DVD - for the appropriate version of Smallworld.
Conversely, if you are using an old version of FME against a newer set of SWAF dll's, the dll may no longer be compatible with that version of FME. You'll have to upgrade to a newer version of FME.
It's critical that the plug-in dll matches the version of magik that is installed on the Smallworld Server.

Resolution: Ensure that the version of the sworldswaf.dll matches the version of Smallworld you're using.

FME for Smallworld Translation Errors

FME API version of module 'SWORLDSWAF' is older than the current with FME internal API version

Symptom: Warning in the FME log and the translation continues.

FME API version of module 'SWORLDSWAF' is '3.1 20031010', which is older than the current with FME internal API version '3.4 20081031'

Solution: The warning is indicating that the Smallworld reader/writer plugin was built with an older version of the FME API than the current version of FME being run. Usually this error can be ignored.

Object unset does not understand message source_collection

Symptom: Error in the FME log and the translation fails.

Smallworld Translator Error: Object unset does not understand message source_collection

Solution: Several reasons for this obscure message. Check the Smallworld log. Possible cause is that you are trying to use the writer to update or delete an object that does not exist - i.e. the sys_id has no match.

Value wrong type for field key

Symptom: Error in the FME log

Smallworld Translator Error: Value wrong type for field key

Solution: Possible cause is that you are trying to insert records and you have a value set for the key field (sys_id). Make sure the key field is removed for insert operations.
The error is ignored and FME will insert the records and Smallworld will set a valid key (sys_id) value.

Value <n> out of range for field key

Symptom: Error in the FME log

Smallworld Translator Error: Value 6901536570885542155 out of range for field key

Solution: Possible cause is that you are trying to insert records and you have a value set for the key field (sysy_id) that is out of range. Make sure the key field is removed for insert operations.
The error is ignored and FME will insert the records and Smallworld will set a valid key (sys_id) value.

The reader has already been configured for operations in the opposite direction.

Symptom: Error in the FME log

Smallworld Translator Error: The reader has already been configured for operations in the opposite direction.

Solution: This error occurs when you are importing feature types from Smallworld into your workspace for your Smallworld writer. You can ignore this error message.

Geometry is missing

Symptom: Features are inserted to Smallworld but they are missing the geometry. No errors or warnings are displayed.
Solution: This problem typically arises if you have the incorrect values for:
sworld_geometry{}.sworld_name
The value of this attribute must match the physical geometry field name. i.e. if the geometry field is location then:
sworld_geometry{0}.sworld_name location
You can set this in an AttributeCreator transformer. Refer to the FME for Smallworld Training materials for more details.

Geometry is incorrect

Symptom: Features are inserted to Smallworld but they are in the wrong location or the 'length' field has the wrong value. No errors or warnings are displayed.
Solution: A related issue to the one above. This is probably occurring because the incorrect or no coordinate system was used on the writer. Refer to the FME for Smallworld Training materials for more details on working with coordinate systems.

Symptom: when reading Smallworld data, the geometry looks like a spiders web...

Solution: The probable cause is an incorrect Smallworld coordinate system. FME reads and writes Smallworld geometries using the Smallworld world coordinates. These are typically in millimeters or centimeters. Most FME coordinate systems are meters of feet. So generally you have to build a custom coordinate system (often just a copy of an existing FME coordinate system) with the appropriate mm or cm units. Attached is an example custom coordinate system for the British National Grid. The FME BritishNatGrid coordinate system is defined in meters, so to match the Smallworld Cambridge database we have created a custom coordinate system - britishnatgrid-mm.zip - basically a copy of the original with the units changed from meter to millimeter.

Performance

Smallworld 4.1 to 4.3 performance degradation: We have had users notice a performance degradation when reading data after they have upgraded to Smallworld 4.3. This is caused by the way the Smallworld reader was handling foreign keys. There is a patch available from GE Smallworld to fix this. If you encounter a performance degradation after updating to Smallworld 4.3 then contact your local GE Smallworld support and ask if they can supply the patch.