Third-Party Vector Data Direct Connection Read/Write Guide 

For ShapeFile, FileGDB, Geopackage, and ArcSDE_Oracle vector data, the SuperMap platform provides a direct connection mechanism that supports directly reading source data, and allows users to perform a full set of operations such as real-time browsing, querying, editing, and spatial analysis. Meanwhile, the processing results can be directly saved to third-party vector files. This mode avoids the time consumption and potential information distortion caused by data conversion in traditional processes. For large-scale vector data, it enables rapid access and efficient processing, thereby significantly improving data value utilization. 

Table 1: Overview of Third-Party Vector Data Direct Connection Functions  

This table briefly describes the support status of third-party data direct connections. Legend: "√" indicates supported, "×" indicates not supported.

Supported Formats Read Edit Direct Save of Analysis Results Remarks
ShapeFile √  × √

Connected using the vector file engine (EngineType.VECTORFILE).
FileGDB √ √ √
  • Connected using ArcSDE Oracle (EngineType.ARCSDE_ORACLE).
  • Only supports reading 2D and 3D point, line, and polygon data.
  • If the Geopackage file fails to open, it may be because it contains data of MultiCurve, CurvePolygon, or CompoundCurve geometry types. Currently, Geopackage does not support parametric objects.
Geopackage √ √ ×
ArcSDE_Oracle √ × ×

Table 2: Detailed Description of Third-Party Vector Data Direct Connection Functions

This table shows the support status of each functional module for third-party vector data. Legend: "√" indicates supported, "×" indicates not supported, "--" indicates not applicable.

Functional Module Function Name FileGDB ShapeFile Geopackage Remarks
Datasource Connection Directly Open FileGDB √ -- -- To open FileGDB, specify the FileGDB folder path. To open ShapeFile or Geopackage, specify the full path (including .shp or .gpkg extension).
Directly Open ShapeFile -- √ --
Directly Open Geopackage -- -- √
Metadata Reading Read Layer Bounds √ √ √  
Read Coordinate System Definition √ √ √  
Read Geometry Type √ √ √
  • Refer to Table 3 for supported dataset types.
  • Supports reading M values in geometries (M values of parametric objects are not supported). Specifically, for FileGDB source data, if all coordinate points of line/polygon objects have M values as NAN, the M value is read as 0; if some coordinate points have M values as NAN, the M value is read as the minimum value in the M value range. For ShapeFile source data, if the M value is NAN, it is uniformly read as -1.7976931348623157E308.
Read Field Structure √ √ √ Refer to Table 4 for supported types.
Geometry and Attribute Query Spatial Query √ √ √  
Attribute Query √ √ √  
SQL Query √ √ √
  • Refer to Table 5 for supported SQL Query syntax.
  • When performing SQL Query on Geopackage DATETIME fields, if the query condition value (e.g., "2025/08/21 17:08:07") needs to be modified to the actual date format stored in the file ("2025-08-21T17:08:07", with date and time connected by "T") to successfully retrieve results; otherwise, the query fails. This is because DATETIME fields in Geopackage files are stored in the "YYYY-MM-DDT00:00:00" format. If using date values saved by the SuperMap platform, the query condition value should be modified to "2025-08-21T17:08:07.000", as the SuperMap platform saves time with millisecond precision.
Geometry and Attribute Editing Edit Objects √ × √
  • Parametric objects in FileGDB will be fitted to polylines after editing; ShapeFile and Geopackage do not support parametric objects.
  • If the attribute dataset in FileGDB or Geopackage only contains primary key fields, adding new records is not supported.
  • For FileGDB source data, if the M value of a point object is NAN, after geometry update, the M value will be automatically updated to the minimum value in the M value range.
New Field √ × √
  • Refer to Table 4 for supported types.
  • WTEXT and CHAR fields created using the SuperMap platform will be automatically converted to TEXT fields.
  • DATE fields created using the SuperMap platform will be automatically converted to DATETIME fields.
  • BYTE fields created using the SuperMap platform will be automatically converted to INT16 fields.
Delete Field √ × √  
Modify Selected Fields (Field Name, Length, Default Value, etc.) × × ×  
Advanced Features Value Domain × × ×  
Subtype × × ×  
Conditional Value × × ×  
Attachment Management × × ×  
Dataset Group √ -- --
  • Only supports reading FileGDB dataset groups; creation and modification are not supported.
  • Deleting a dataset group only deletes all datasets under the group; the group itself is not deleted.
Version Control × × ×  
Attribute and Spatial Index √ √ √ Supports using the file's built-in index; creating indexes is not supported.
Direct Save of Analysis Results Directly Save Analysis Results as FileGDB √ -- --  
  Directly Save Analysis Results as ShapeFile -- √ --  
  Directly Save Analysis Results as Geopackage -- -- ×  
Dataset Management Create, Delete, Copy, Rename Dataset     √ -- √
  • FileGDB only supports EPSG projection; when creating a new dataset, set the EPSG projection to ensure normal data usage.
  • If no dataset bounds are set for a new dataset, the coordinate values of new objects must not be less than -2147483647 (i.e., not less than the minimum value of INT32), otherwise object creation will fail. If valid dataset bounds are pre-set, the coordinate values of new objects are not subject to this restriction.
  • When copying a dataset to a vector file, if the source dataset contains INT64 fields, they will be lost after copying to the vector file, as the current version does not support creating INT64 fields.
Multi-Process/Thread Multi-Thread Reading √ √ √  
Multi-Process Editing × × ×  
Transaction Commit × × ×  

Table 3: Supported Dataset Types

This table shows the support status of various dataset types in direct connection datasources. Legend: "√" indicates support for both reading and editing, "Read-only" indicates support only for reading, "×" indicates not supported at all or the format does not include this dataset type.

Dataset Type FileGDB ShapeFile Geopackage
Network × × ×
Text Read-only × ×

Topology

 × × ×
Attribute Table √ × √
Multi-Point Read-only Read-only ×
Relationship Class × × ×
2D and 3D Point, Line, Polygon √ Read-only √

Table 4: Supported Field Types

This table shows the supported field types in datasets. Legend: "√" indicates support for both reading and editing, "Read-only" indicates support only for reading, "×" indicates not supported at all or the format does not include this dataset type.

Field Type FileGDB ShapeFile Geopackage
INT16 √ Read-only √
INT32 √ Read-only √
INT64 Read-only Read-only Read-only
DOUBLE √ Read-only √
SINGLE √ Read-only √
TEXT √ Read-only √
WTEXT × × ×
JSONB × × ×
CHAR × × ×
BOOLEAN × Read-only Read-only
DATETIME √ Read-only √
DATE × × ×
TIME × × ×
BYTE  × × ×
LONGBINARY √ × √

Table 5: Supported SQL Query Functions

This table shows the support status of key SQL Query functions. Legend: "√" indicates supported, "×" indicates not supported.

SQL Query Category SQL Keyword Support Status
Conditional Query WHERE Clause Statement √
DISTINCT Deduplication √
LIKE Fuzzy Matching √
IN Value List Matching √
BETWEEN Range Matching √
Aggregation and Grouping GROUP BY Grouping √
COUNT(), SUM(), AVG(), etc. Aggregate Functions √
HAVING Post-Grouping Filtering ×
Sorting and Pagination ORDER BY Sorting √
LIMIT Pagination ×
Advanced Query JOIN Multi-Table Association Query ×
SELECT Nested Query ×
UNION Union Query ×
AS Alias √
Stored Procedures/Functions  

Related Topics

Open External Vector File

New Datasource

Manage Datasource