[OSM-newbies] address to coordinates

[Jeffrey Martin]

I asked my father about his cars navigation system. It has
a screen where he can see longitude and latitude, but
it will not let him type in coordinates for navigation. It will
only take addresses, and it will not give him coordinates
if he types in the address unless he drives there.

Is this normal for navigation systems?

Is there  an open source translation database somewhere?

-Jeff

-- 
http://bowlad.com