Shapefiles and Geopackages

Shapefiles are vector data storage models for storing feature classes composed of points, lines and polygons, but never a mixture. It stores information of the location, shape and attributes of geographical features. Each item in a shapefile has attributes that describe it composed of rows, called records and columns called fields and can also store multipart features, in which a single feature includes multiple objects which includes-

• .shp file stores coordinate data
• .dbf file stores attribute data
• .shx file stores a spatial index that speeds drawing and analysis
• .prj file stores projection information
• .avl file stores legend
• .xml file contains metadata

Characteristics of a shapefile

• Takes up more storage space on your system
• Shapefiles have a minimum size of 2GB
• Do not support names in fields longer than 10 characters
• A shapefile cannot have more than one geometry type in a file.
• Cannot store data and time in the same field
• Do not support raster files
• Do not store NULL values in a field; when a value is NULL, a shapefile will use 0 instead.

A Geopackage is platform-independent format for storing and transferring geospatial information. It is a SQLite based standard format designed for stand-alone databases that holds both raster data and multiple vector data layers in a single file and can be accessible by non-GIS software.

Characteristics of a Geopackage

• Geopackages are open source, SQLite based database
• No limitation on the file size and can handle large number of features
• Can store both raster as well as vector data layers
• A single Geopackage file can have multiple vector layers with each layer having a different geometry type.

Why choose Geopackages and not Shapefiles?

1. Shapefile is a multi-file format with minimum of 3 files and several other attached files with different extensions. Sharing a shapefile with someone would be complicated as all the other files attached will also have to be shared. Whereas, Geopackages includes all the information of the layer in a file and is easier to transfer or share.
2. Compared to shapefiles, the column headers in a geopackage can be full names and right by providing the correct context for each column. A shapefile can only have 10 characters to define the column header.
3. Geopackages run faster on algorithm outputs compared to shapefiles.
4. In a geopackage, there is no limit on the file size and can handle large number of features in a smaller file size. A shapefile can handle maximum size of 2 GB and cannot export a vector layer with more features.
5. A Geopackage stores both raster and vector files whereas, shapefiles can store only vector files.
6. Geopackages are lightweight and compatible across environments specially in mobile devices. It is 1.1-1.3x lighter in file size compared to shapefiles.