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Ziptastic: Isn't a zipcode enough?

daspecster.github.com

11–20 of 113 posts

Re: Ziptastic: Isn't a zipcode enough?

#12
post #8
post #7

I'm actually impressed it came back with my correct information. On major websites including Target.com, they do not see my zip code as valid even though it's close to a decade old. Sure, it's knew in the grand scheme of things but that's crazy... Anyway, I agree with the others that while this is nifty it won't always be accurate for everyone. For instance my township is contained within a very, very large county so…

My understanding is the whole point of a zipcode is that city and state on a mailer don't matter at all. Doesn't zipcode go to a specific post office?

I believe to a point it matters. In high density areas there might be a few distribution centers for mail. So the 9 digit zipcode is important. Also, the address lines are still very important. i.e. 1234 mystreet st. apt #2

Re: Ziptastic: Isn't a zipcode enough?

#17
I just love it when people create projects to solve problems that have already been solved before. 5 minutes of web searching would have told you:

* The USPS already has this information

* ZIP codes are not precise enough to provide a single city/town result (in fact, many web sites already get this wrong).

* ZIP+4 codes will give you block-level detail, but I doubt more than a few percent of people know what their +4 digits are.

Re: Ziptastic: Isn't a zipcode enough?

#19
post #15

I love Twitter bootstrap but can people take a few minutes to customize the colors just a bit? Is that too much to ask for?

Does it really matter in this sort of case? It's a single parameter, single use JSON API. The documentation is essentially a single line of text.

If it was a GitHub `README.txt` file you wouldn't be complaining that it looks like every other GitHub readme.

Re: Ziptastic: Isn't a zipcode enough?

#20
post #2

Unfortunately in some cases a zipcode is in fact not enough, as it's possible for a zipcode to spread across multiple towns. However, if you have a full 9 digit zipcode then you can in fact always determine. However, even if you can't always determine this information exactly, a zipcode should be enough to pre-populate these fields for you most of the time, and in those rare cases which they don't a choice can be pre…

For example: 94062 can be either Woodside or Redwood City or Emerald Hills.
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