What is Shapefile?

A shapefile is a popular geospatial vector data format for geographic information system (GIS) software. It is used to store the geometric location and attribute information of geographic features. Shapefiles are commonly used to represent points, lines, and polygons, such as locations of cities, roads, and administrative boundaries. Although termed a "shapefile", it actually comprises a collection of files with a common filename prefix, stored in the same directory. The main file is the .shp file, which stores the feature geometry.