What is Fiona? ¶

Fiona is described as “a FOSS Python library that can be used to read and write GIS formats like shape file and geopackage.” The tool simplifies scenarios requiring GIS data import/export operations, offering straightforward functionality.

Installation ¶

Install via pip:

pip install fiona

Reading Shapefiles ¶

Import required modules:

import fiona
from fiona.model import to_dict

Open files using context manager syntax:

with fiona.open('path/to/shapefile.shp', 'r') as shapefile:
    print(shapefile.crs)

Access CRS information and iterate through records. Convert to dictionary format using the to_dict() function.

Writing Shapefiles ¶

Import necessary components:

import fiona
from fiona.crs import from_epsg

Define schema specifying geometry type and attribute properties with data types and constraints. Create output file with CRS, driver, and schema specifications:

with fiona.open('path/to/shapefile.shp', 'w', crs=from_epsg(4326),
                driver='ESRI Shapefile', schema=schema) as output:

Build geometry in GeoJSON format and write features containing both geometry and property data.