It seems to be like GeoPackage will be the new standard filetype in QGIS. In a way it is a minimalized version and standardized version of SpatiaLite. It is advertised as “An Open Format for Geospatial Information. GeoPackage is an open, standards-based, platform-independent, portable, self-describing, compact format for transferring geospatial information.” Let us have a look at it.
GeoPackage itself is a database container for SQLite.
According to its specifications it stores:
- vector features
- tile matrix sets of imagery and raster maps at various scales
- attributes (non-spatial data)
- extensions
and has a maximum file size is supposed to be ~140 TB.
The specification allows for certain extensions including all SQL-like data structures. The spatial reference system is denoted by it’s EPSG code.
GeoPackage’s main purpose is to exchange a single file containing both vector features as well as raster data set. It supports SQLite journaling and therefore can be used for multi-user work.
Vector Data (Features)
It is designed in accordance with ISO 13249-3 and therefore supports:
- Point, MultiPoint
- Curve, LineString, MultiLineString
- Surface, CurvePolygon, Polygon, Multisurface, Multipolygon
Raster Data (Tiles)
Raster data is stored as PNG or JPEG. It supports tile pyramids (different resolutions for different zoom levels). The extent of the tiles are described by bounding boxes.