Is it possible for a workspace to have no source dataset?

• A. Yes
• B. No
• C. Only in Data Upload mode
• D. Only in a development environment

Answer: (A)

In FME, a workspace does not have to start with a real input dataset. You can begin the data flow with a Creator transformer, which generates features from nothing. Those generated features then pass through the rest of the network and can be written to outputs just like data read from a file or database. Because of this, there can be a workspace with no initial source dataset. Data Upload mode is another way to provide input data at run time, but it’s not the only path—the Creator approach shows that no source dataset is needed by design.