Feature vs Object in Data model

SivaG

Hi,

In ESRI sample data model diagrams, there are classes like "Feature" and "Object".

What is the difference between these 2 classes ?

I understand these 2 like,
Feature - is a 'feature class' which is spatial data.
Object - is a 'table' which is non-spatial data.

Kindly let me know whether my understanding is right or something else.

Regards,
Siva

Jacob_Helfman

You're almost correct, except that I like to think of features and objects as the individual data entries or rows, aka records in a table.

Features are the records for spatial data, such as feature classes or layers. 

Objects are the records for nonspatial data, which can also be a layer or class, as explained here by "Get Spatial": https://gis.stackexchange.com/questions/26336/difference-between-map-layer-and-spatial-dataset-e-g-feature-class-shapefile. As an example, a utility network uses junction and edge objects "to model and work with a large number of real-world features that share a common geographical space..." ( from https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/data/utility-network/utility-network-vocabulary.htm#ESRI_SECTION1_FA5380C5D4ED45A79D9F9DB69207D478).