Rich Geometry

From fmepedia

The term Rich was (up until FME2009) applied in two different aspects of FME functionality, both related in some way to feature geometry.

Geometry Model

FME has an internal Geometry Model that describes how features are stored within FME and its FFS format.

In FME2006 and FME2006GB the geometry model underwent widespread improvements to support complex geometry types, such as polygons whose boundaries include arc features.

This is what became known as Rich Geometry.

Geometry Handling

After the implementation of rich geometry, user-level functionality (such as data formats and transformers) were upgraded to take advantage of these geometry model improvements.

These upgrades can be turned on and off en-masse using the Geometry Handling Parameter, which (up to FME2009) had values of either Classic or Rich (they are now Classic or Enhanced).

Confusion

Because they both made use of the term "rich", the function of the Geometry Handling Parameter was often confused with the newer geometry types in the Geometry Model, when in fact the two are totally separate and unrelated topics. That's why in FME2009 the geometry handling parameter was renamed and given new values.