GeoPackages, or GIS without GIS

Before you do anything, please take a minute to consider where you are.

This workshop will provide an introduction to using GeoPackage (and to some extent, Spatialite) spatial databases without using specialized geographic information systems (GIS) software. This doesn’t mean that it is a GIS replacement, but GIS software learning curves are steep, and may not be necessary depending on your needs.

The only software you will need is an interface to SQLite. This workshop will use DB Browser for SQLite, but any SQLite software will do, even the SQLite terminal interface.

It also presupposes some knowledge of SQL (structured query language), although if you don’t know any it may still be of use to you.

Is this for me?

Not sure? Here are some situations where GeoPackages can be useful:

• if you’re familiar with databases but not GIS software
• to analyse spatial data when the output is not a map (e.g. calculate distance between points)
• to filter or manipulate spatial data before opening it in GIS software (e.g. if source dataset is large)
• to work with spatial data where GIS software is not available (e.g. in mobile app development)

Prerequisites

• A basic understanding of SQL databases
• A functioning SQLite environment. This tutorial uses DB Browser for SQLite. Setup instructions are available here

Objectives

After completion you should have an understanding of:

• What a GeoPackage is and what it does
• How to perform basic queries
• How to perform some basic geographic operations
• How to export your data, either as a data table or in a spatial format.