Shapefiler

Shapefiler is a term used in some computer graphics and geographic information system (GIS) contexts to describe a software component or file format designed for storing, transmitting, and querying geometric shapes and their attributes.

A shapefiler typically provides a compact, self-describing representation of shape data, including spatial coordinates, shape types (points, lines, polygons, multipatches), and associated metadata such as color, layer, and drawing order. It is intended to support efficient streaming and random access, allowing applications to load only the shapes or attributes needed for a given view or analysis.

Data model and format: A shapefiler file usually begins with a header containing version, coordinate precision, and bounding extent, followed by a series of shape records. Each record encodes a shape type, a bounding box, and a coordinate sequence, often accompanied by a separate attribute table or embedded key-value pairs. Many implementations offer optional compression, coordinate quantization, and indexing for fast spatial queries. Interoperability is commonly achieved via conversion tools to and from standard formats such as shapefiles, GeoJSON, or well-known binary formats.

Usage: Shapefilers are used in asset pipelines for games and simulations, in GIS for map data, and in CAD workflows where large collections of vector shapes require fast loading and efficient storage.

History and status: The exact specification of shapefiler is not standardized across projects; several open-source and commercial tools reference the concept, sometimes as a general term for shape serialization, rather than a single universal format.

See also: shapefile, GeoJSON, vector graphics.