8 ms·

There are many problems with zip codes / postal codes but the biggest two we see are: a. Excel treats them as numbers instead of strings of digits and thus dro

There are many problems with zip codes / postal codes but the biggest two we see are: a. Excel treats them as numbers instead of strings of digits and thus drops the leading 0 b. Developers make assumptions about postal codes based on how they work (or more usually how the developer incorrectly thinks they work) in their own country and these assumptions absolutely do NOT hold in other countries. A relevant guide to geocoding and postal codes: https://opencagedata.com/guides/how-to-think-about-postcodes-and-geocoding https://opencagedata.com/guides/how-to-think-about-postcodes...

paganel 2y ago
Also, "everybody" knows their zip-code/postal-code is mostly an American/British thing, I still remember my British former boss asking me about my zip-code about 20 years ago (I live in Romania, we were implementing the first google-maps-based mashup in this country) and me answering that I have no idea, and that no-one around these parts really knows his/her postal-code. We do know our address, though, or used to, before we had smart-phones.
gibspaulding 2y ago
> Developers make assumptions about postal codes Until very recently I naively assumed that the area of a given zip code would be entirely within the area of some single city or town which would then be entirely within the area of a single county. It was quite a rude awakening working with software that tries to apply the correct local taxes to a given address and finding that the statement “A given X can contain multiple Y” is true for every possible combination of zip, city, and county.
vikingerik 2y ago
The post office has adapted in turn to that Excel problem. They know it happens. If a parcel has only four digits for the zip code, they'll treat it as a leading zero for routing and delivery.
- freyfogle 2y ago
  yes, of course. The question is have all the developers writing their own code to deal with zip codes also adapted?

paganel 2y ago

Also, "everybody" knows their zip-code/postal-code is mostly an American/British thing, I still remember my British former boss asking me about my zip-code about 20 years ago (I live in Romania, we were implementing the first google-maps-based mashup in this country) and me answering that I have no idea, and that no-one around these parts really knows his/her postal-code. We do know our address, though, or used to, before we had smart-phones.

gibspaulding 2y ago

> Developers make assumptions about postal codes Until very recently I naively assumed that the area of a given zip code would be entirely within the area of some single city or town which would then be entirely within the area of a single county. It was quite a rude awakening working with software that tries to apply the correct local taxes to a given address and finding that the statement “A given X can contain multiple Y” is true for every possible combination of zip, city, and county.

vikingerik 2y ago

The post office has adapted in turn to that Excel problem. They know it happens. If a parcel has only four digits for the zip code, they'll treat it as a leading zero for routing and delivery.

freyfogle 2y ago
yes, of course. The question is have all the developers writing their own code to deal with zip codes also adapted?