Creating a spatial database

Creating a spatial database in QGIS is a simple operation. QGIS supports PostGIS, SpatiaLite, MSSQL, SQL Anywhere, and Oracle Spatial databases. We will cover SpatiaLite, an open source project that is cross-platform, simple, and lightweight, and provides quite a bit of functionality. SpatiaLite is a spatial database management system (DBMS) built on top of SQLite, a lightweight personal DBMS.

We will create a new SpatiaLite database that we will use for the remaining exercises in this chapter; to do this, perform the following steps:

Now that we have a new SpatiaLite database, let's look at its initial structure and contents. To do this, we will use DB Manager, a built-in QGIS plugin. DB Manager provides a simple graphical interface to manage PostGIS and SpatiaLite databases. Using DB Manager, we will be able to view and manage our SpatiaLite database. Let's start by getting familiar with the DB Manager interface.

When a new SpatiaLite database is created, it is automatically populated with multiple tables and views. These tables and views hold records used by the DBMS to manage the structure and operation of the database. You should not modify or delete these tables or views unless you are absolutely sure of what you are doing.