GeoPackage overview

OS MasterMap Highways Network – Roads is supplied as one GeoPackage file for GB. GeoPackage (*.gpkg) is an open, standards-based data format, as is defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). It is designed to be a lightweight format that can contain large amounts of varied and complex data in a single, easy to distribute and ready to use file.

GeoPackage can be used in most GIS software in its native format without translation. GeoPackage attribute names are not limited in length. A GeoPackage file has no size limit, and it supports raster, vector and database formats, making it a highly versatile solution.

Attribute naming differences between GML and GeoPackage formats

The naming of attributes between GeoPackage and the Geography Markup Language (GML) file is very similar as GeoPackage files are not limited in the number of characters for an attribute name. The tables listed in this section map the GML attribute name to the attribute name in the GeoPackage files.

The GML contains an attribute which describes the geometry of the feature; this is not applicable for a GeoPackage file as they are separated by their geometry. Please note not all GML attributes have been mapped to Geopackage. In the GeoPackage attribute tables, a greyed-out box with an asterisk (*) marks a GeoPackage attribute that is not mapped from a GML attribute.