title: How to parse a .shp file?
body: <p>I am interested in gleaning information from an ESRI <code>.shp</code> file.
  Specifically the <code>.shp</code> file of a polyline feature class.</p>
  
  <p>When I open the <code>.dbf</code> of a feature class, I get what I would expect: a table that can open in excel and contains the information from the feature class' table.</p>
  
  <p>However, when I try to open a <code>.shp</code> file in any program (excel, textpad, etc...) all I get is a bunch of gibberish and unusual ASCII characters.</p>
  
  <p>I would like to use Python (2.x) to interpret this file and get information out of it (in this case the vertices of the polyline).</p>
  
  <p>I do not want to use any modules or non built-in tools, as I am genuinely interested in how this process would work and I don't want any dependencies.</p>
  
  <p>Thank you for any hints or points in the right direction you can give!</p>