GeoPackage
| Status | OGC Standard Implementation Specification |
|---|---|
| Latest version | 1.1 |
| Domain | Open Geospatial Consortium |
| Website | OGC GeoPackage Standard Working Group |
GeoPackage (GPKG) is an open, non-proprietary, platform-independent and standards-based data format for geographic information system based on the SQLite database format. Defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium[1] with the backing of the US Military[2] and published in 2014, it has seen wide widespread support from major vendors including Esri and Safe Software, as well as open source packages such as GDAL, QGIS and GeoServer.[3]
Origin
Despite dozens of file formats and services for exchanging geospatial data, there was not an open format which could support both raster and vector data, while being efficiently decodable by open source software, particularly in mobile devices.[4][5] This need was formally expressed at OGC in 2012.[6] The candidate standard was approved by OGC in January 2014[7]
Format
GeoPackage is built up as an extended SQLite 3 database file (*.gpkg)[8] containing data & metadata tables with specified definitions, integrity assertions, format limitations and content constraints. It describes a set of conventions for storing vector features, tile matrix sets of imagery and raster maps at various scales, schema and metadata. It is extensible through the use of custom extensions.
GeoPackage was designed to be as lightweight as possible and contained in one ready-to-use single file. This makes it suitable for mobile applications in disconnected mode[9] and rapid sharing on cloud storage, USB drives, etc. It uses SQLite spatial indexes in order to speed up performances to spatial queries compared to traditional geospatial files formats.
Limitations
- GeoPackage allows the use of non-spatial tables only via the aspatial extension [10][11]
- GeoPackage only supports one geometry column per table
References
- ↑ Standard definition OGC
- ↑ http://www.c4isrnet.com/story/military-tech/geoint/2015/08/13/edge-pushing-geo-data-disadvantaged-troops/31547355/
- ↑ http://www.geopackage.org/#implementations
- ↑ "GeoPackage as Future Ubiquitous GIS Data Format: A Review". www.jurnalteknologi.utm.my. Retrieved 2015-12-20.
- ↑ Singh, R.; Bermudez, L. E. (2013-12-01). "Emerging Geospatial Sharing Technologies in Earth and Space Science Informatics". AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. 33: 08.
- ↑ The OGC Forms GeoPackage Standards Working Group - OGC Press Release
- ↑ OGC adopts important GeoPackage Standard for Mobile - OGC Press release
- ↑ http://www.geopackage.org/spec/
- ↑ OGC's Geopackage standard enables geospatial data sharing for mobile devices - Between the Poles
- ↑ http://www.geopackage.org/spec/#_extensions
- ↑ http://www.gdal.org/geopackage_aspatial.html
External links
- Geopackage website - Containing implementation guidelines, sample data, ...
- http://www.digitalpreservation.gov:8081/formats/fdd/fdd000419.shtml - Geopackage format description on digitalpreservation