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gpkg

INFRA · APIS
Velocity0.0

R package gpkg by brownag — release notes from GitHub.

github.com/brownag/gpkg ↗

An R interface to GeoPackage that keeps sanding down its own API

geospatialgeopackager-packagegdalrasterapi-churn
◆Current state
gpkg gives R users a direct handle on GeoPackage files — the SQLite-based OGC container for vector and raster layers — through lazy table access, OGR/SQLite dialect queries and terra integration. Recent releases center on raster write ergonomics: automatic NoData selection via auto_nodata and an exported gpkg_default_nodata() following GDAL and terra conventions. Release bodies are cumulative, folding two or three versions into one entry.
◆Where it's heading
The package is still finding its interface shape, and most releases pair a small capability with a deprecation or signature change — destfile giving way to y, gpkg_create_dummy_features deprecated, vapour swapped out for gdalraster. The consistent direction is deferring to GDAL and terra conventions rather than inventing gpkg-specific behaviour, and pushing connection management out of users' hands. Cadence is roughly one release a year with dependency automation now in CI.
◆Prediction
Expect further alignment of write-path defaults with GDAL conventions and continued deprecation-with-replacement of early argument names, with an ogr2ogr-style path for out-of-memory vector data flagged as a possibility rather than a commitment.

◆Recent moves

  1. 4mo ago

    Automatic NoData selection for raster writes

    gpkg_write() gains auto_nodata, picking an appropriate NoData value per raster datatype instead of leaving it unset, with the logic exported as gpkg_default_nodata() so users can query it directly. The same body also carries 0.0.13, which deprecates destfile in favour of a y argument that accepts geopackage or DBIConnection objects — the more disruptive of the two changes.

    View source ↗
  2. 1y ago

    Connection handling reworked; table access via [ and [[

    A cumulative entry spanning three versions. The substance is connection lifecycle: internal SQLiteConnection usage is cleaned up so open connections survive garbage collection, with gpkg_connection() and gpkg_disconnect() exposed to users. Alongside it, [ and [[ methods make tables addressable like list elements, gpkg_sf() bridges to sf, and driver detection moves from vapour to gdalraster.

    View source ↗
  3. 2y ago

    Spatial views: dynamic layers that read as static ones

    gpkg_create_spatial_view() adds spatial views — layers computed on access but usable as though they were stored geometry tables. The rest is write-path robustness, including data.frame attribute handling and a SpatVectorProxy path that works only for data fitting in memory.

    View source ↗
  4. 2y ago

    Initial CRAN release, with OGR query support

    The CRAN debut, bundled with several prior versions in one body. The most consequential piece is gpkg_ogr_query() and the ogr argument to gpkg_query(), which open the GeoPackage-specific SQL functions and the OGR/SQLite dialects to R users through a terra SpatVectorProxy backend.

    View source ↗