SpatiaLite is an open-source GIS library that adheres to OpenGIS specifications. It offers spatial data storage, management, and processing capabilities to enable the creation of GIS applications, using SQL and other programming languages.
SQLite is a widely-used DBMS known for its simplicity, robustness, ease-of-use, and lightness. It functions by using a file format instead of complex relational databases. As SQLite databases are portable and cross-platform, users can easily transfer the same database file across multiple operating systems like Windows, Linux, and MacOs, making it a popular option among developers.
With the SpatiaLite extension, SQLite can now support spatial data, or GEOMETRY, in a way that is conformant to OpenGis specifications. This extension supports standard WKT and WKB formats and implements SQL spatial functions such as AsText(), GeomFromText(), Area(), PointN(), and more. Although not all OpenGis functions are supported, the core features are available. The SpatiaLite extension also supports importing and exporting from/to shapefiles as well as coordinate reprojection via PROJ.4 and EPSG geodetic parameters dataset.
The VirtualShape extension enables SQLite to access shapefiles as VIRTUAL TABLEs, allowing for standard SQL queries on external shapefiles with no need for importing or converting them. Both SpatiaLite and VirtualShape are distributed in the form of shared libraries for easy integration with standard sqlite3 front end via the .load 'extension' or SELECT load_extension('extension') mechanism.
Older versions of sqlite3 might not support extensions, or some up-to-date distributions may disable them for security reasons, but users have the option of using SQLiteGeo, a derivative sqlite3 3.5.7 that is slightly modified to automatically load both SpatiaLite and VirtualShape if desired.
The latest release of SpatiaLite includes the complete rearchitecturing and refactoring of the codebase, integrating GEOS, complete spatial analysis, OpenGIS compliance verification, and adding standard Spatial Metadata and Spatial Index via RTrees. All in all, the SpatiaLite library is a valuable tool for anyone working with GIS projects, providing essential support for spatial data while being lightweight and easy-to-use.
Version 2.0: N/A