Specification is readily available; supported by other software
Does not support the storage of topological information
Can only store one feature class
It is a collection of 3 or more files:
Required files:
Main file: .shp
This is the primary file that stores feature geometry.
Index file: .shx
Stores the index of the feature geometry.
Dbase table: .dbf
Stores the attribute data for features contained in .shp.
There is a one-to-one relationship between geometry and attributes, which is based on record number. Attribute records in the dBASE file must be in the same order as records in the main file.