TIGER shapefiles - using and interpreting

Question

I know of the US GIS TIGER file format from years ago, but have never used it.

I'm very shortly going to need to very quickly implement simple geocoding and vector graphics of roads and other features.

• Where do I go for information - are there tutorials, example queries, etc?

Are there other ways to include geocoding and basic mapping in a mobile (no internet) device?

Answer 1

As far as I'm aware of, there aren't many applications that make use of the TIGER/Line format directly. Most apps use TIGER files that have been translated into ESRI's shapefile format.

Edited to add:

Is there information on ESRI's format available?

There's an ESRI whitepaper describing the file format.

If you're planning to use shapefiles in an application, there are various libraries out there.

Answer 2

The OpenStreetMap project imported TIGER data, you might find useful code snippets there. See the TIGER page on the OpenStreetMap wiki for more information and links