SoilWise Geopackage

Datastream Form

Open

To open the Datastream custom forms, go to the Layers panel, right‑click the datastream layer, and choose Open Attribute Table from the context menu.

Tip

For further information on the custom forms, consult the documents Customized Attribute Forms in QGIS and Navigating GeoPackage Tables via Forms

Edit

Fig.1 Right-click in the "Layers" panel on the "datastream", ① and from the menu, select "Toggle Editing" ②.

Alternatively, select only the “datastream” layer ① and click the “Toggle Editing” button ③ in the toolbar.



Fig.1 A small pencil icon ④ will appear, indicating that the feature is in edit mode.

Right-click in the "Layers" panel on the "datastream", and from the menu, select "Open Attribute Table" ⑤



Fig.1 Click the "Add Feature" buttn; ⑥ a new data‑entry form will appear on the right. ⑦

Use the widgets provided by the form to modify data.



For detailed information on how to initiate edit mode for a custom form, refer to the Editing Records Through a QGIS Form documentation.

Editing Datastream via Child Elements (QGIS Sub‑Forms)

Editing Datastream records through child elements (sub‑forms embedded in the parent form) is the most reliable and efficient workflow for your INSPIRE Soil GeoPackage. It keeps users in context, auto‑populates foreign keys, and mirrors database integrity rules at the point of entry.

Why “child‑form editing” is the best option for Datastream

Context‑aware data entry: Working inside the parent form (e.g. Soil Site, Soil Profile, Profile Element or Soil Derived Object) ensures the Datastream receives the correct parent keys without manual copying. QGIS relations and their forms are explicitly designed to connect and edit related tables in place.

Integrity by design: The QGIS relation editor widget exposes dedicated child‑layer controls and honors relationship cardinalities, minimizing orphan data and key mismatches. It includes built‑in actions for Add child feature and Save child edits.

Fig.1



Use the following buttons to manage child layers during data editing.

Toggle editing mode for child layer ① enables editing on the related (child) layer embedded in the form; once active, you can add/modify/delete child records directly from the parent record’s view.

Save child layer edit ② commits the pending edits for the child layer to the GeoPackage. Use this to persist changes without leaving the parent form.

Add child feature ③ creates a new child record pre‑linked to the current parent (relation fields are auto‑populated by the form’s relation widget), ensuring correct foreign keys and preventing orphan rows.

REQUIRED fields

  • id: primary key (auto-incrementing)
  • name: TEXT
  • type: TEXT (constrained values)
  • guid_sensor: TEXT (FK)
  • guid_observedproperty: TEXT (FK)

ID Group

Fig.1



Fields

  • id - Primary AUTO_INCREMENT INTEGER PRIMARY KEY; it’s the required identifier for GeoPackage tables and is assigned automatically on insert.

  • guid - Global identifier in UUID format, stored as text. The field is optional. It’s automatically managed via triggers.

Important

On opening, the ID group is collapsed: there is no need for manual editing, as both fields are system‑managed (the id by the SQLite engine and the guid by triggers), reducing errors and ensuring identifier consistency over time.

Result Type

The custom form dynamically adapts its layout and available fields based on the selected Result Type. ①

Fig.1



When a Result Type is chosen, the form automatically displays only the fields that are required or optional for that specific type, while hiding or disabling fields that are not allowed.
This behavior ensures a correct and consistent definition of the Result Type and prevents invalid configurations.

Each Result Type enforces a specific set of required, optional, and forbidden fields, as described below.

Important

For further details about the Result Type definition, validation rules, and related constraints, please refer to the documentation of the Datastream table.

Result Type: Boolean

Description
Used to represent binary values (true/false).

Fig.1



Forbidden fields

  • iduom
  • codespace
  • value_min
  • value_max

Result Type: Category

Description
Used to represent categorical or classified values defined within a controlled code list.

Fig.1



Required fields

  • codespace ① The user can select a codespace from the list of codespaces already available in the system.

Forbidden fields

  • iduom
  • value_min
  • value_max

Important

For further information about codespaces and instructions on how to add them to the geopackage, please refer to the documentation of the Codelist table.

Result Type: Count

Description
Used to represent integer counts or occurrences.

Fig.1



Optional fields

  • value_min①
  • value_max②

Forbidden fields

  • iduom
  • codespace

Additional constraints

  • If both value_min and value_max are provided, then:
    • value_max must be greater than value_min

Result Type: Quantity

Description
Used to represent measurable quantities associated with a numeric value and a unit of measure.

Fig.1



Required fields

  • iduom (unit of measure) ① The widget allows users to select the available units of measure stored in the Geopackage.

Optional fields

  • value_min②
  • value_max ③

Forbidden fields

  • codespace

Important

Additional units of measure can be added to the system by inserting new records into the unitofmeasure table.

Observed Property - Sensor - Observing Procedure - Thing

Fig.1



The Relation Reference widgets for Observed Property, Sensor, Observing Procedure, and Thing reference the records stored in their respective tables.

Each dropdown list displays only the rows available in the corresponding Geopackage table, ensuring data consistency and referential integrity.

Mandatory and Optional Fields

  • Observed Property: Required
  • Sensor: Required
  • Observing Procedure: Optional
  • Thing: Optional

Observing Procedure Filtering Logic

The list of available Observing Procedures is dynamically filtered based on the selected Observed Property.

Warning

Validation Constraint
If the selected Observed Property – Observing Procedure key pair is not present in the
obsprocedure_obsdproperty table, the system will raise an error and prevent the insertion of the Datastream record.

Important

This filtering is performed according to the relationships defined between Observed Property and Observing Procedure in the

obsprocedure_obsdproperty table. Only Observing Procedures that are explicitly linked to the selected Observed Property will be available for selection.

Note

The Geopackage is distributed with a predefined set of GLOSIS Observed Property – Observing Procedure records,
including their relationships already defined in the obsprocedure_obsdproperty table.

Feature

Fig.1



A Datastream must be associated with one and only one parent Feature.
Among the four available Features, exactly one must be selected and must not be NULL:

  • Soil Site
  • Soil Profile
  • Profile Element
  • Soil Derived Object

Selecting more than one Feature or leaving all of them unset is not allowed and will result in an invalid Datastream definition.

It is strongly recommended to create Datastreams through the child forms of the Features rather than directly from the Datastream table, as this ensures that the Datastream automatically receives the correct parent keys without manual selection.

Constraints

  • Type set: type ∈ {Quantity, Category, Boolean, Count, Text} (CHECK).
  • Type combinations: exclusive requirements among code_unitofmeasure, codespace, value_min, value_max by type (CHECK).
  • Bounds order: if both bounds set, value_min <= value_max (CHECK + BEFORE INSERT/UPDATE).
  • Count bounds as integers: when type='Count', provided bounds must be numerically integral (BEFORE INSERT/UPDATE).
  • Codespace membership: if codespace is not NULL, it must exist in codelist(id) for collection='Category' (BEFORE INSERT/UPDATE).
  • Procedure–Property pairing: (guid_observingprocedure, guid_observedproperty) must exist in obsprocedure_obsdproperty on INSERT/UPDATE (BEFORE triggers).
  • Definition/Codespace URI hygiene: syntax checks on definition and codespace (CHECK).
  • Phenomenon time propagation: AFTER triggers keep phenomenontime_* equal to MIN/MAX across linked observations.
  • Bounds tightening protection: updating value_min/max is aborted if any existing observation would fall outside the new bounds (BEFORE UPDATE).

Attribute Reference

For an overview of the attributes used in the custom form, refer to the soilsite table documentation. It provides the key definitions and data types needed to correctly interpret the fields and configure the form within the data model.

Save

For a more comprehensive overview of form‑saving workflows, refer to the detailed documentation in Saving Edits in QGIS Forms.