Postcode Searching Toolkits

Include 'Find My Nearest' functionality in your website or application.

Overview

Our postcode searching toolkits allows web developers to integrate 'find my nearest' functions into applications or websites. They contain sets of functions which are easy to link together in diverse ways to create the features which you require for determining the proximity of one postcode and one or more others in the UK. We offer 3 toolkits that have similar functionality, implemented in different environments:

• PHPostcode
• ASPostcode
• VBPostcode

• Features
  • Correctly format postcodes in the UK.
  • Derive the Easting and Northing co-ordinates of the centre of the postcode sector (e.g. LS2 9) or the postcode unit (e.g. LS2 9AE) depending on whether data
  • Find the straight-line distance between the centroid of two or more postcode sectors (e.g. LS2 9) or postcode units (e.g. LS2 9AE).
  • Use your database to show customers and other users the nearest entries such as retail outlet, schools, medical practice, etc. to their UK postcode by:
  • Return a specified number of results e.g. the nearest 3 stores, or
  • Return all results within a given radius of their location.
  • Examples provided on how to use each toolkit.
  
  Additional database queries can be made before and/or after a locational query such as find-my-nearest. This means that searches can be narrowed down to the nearest outlet of a particular type for example, or results can be refined based on other variables stored in your database records.


• Benefits
  • Link functions from the postcode searching toolkits to databases to find nearest entries or entries within a given radius of a postcode.
  • Set constraints on searches to limit to specfied distance in kilometers or miles.
  • Allows your customers to find nearest entries such as retail, outles, schools or medical practices to their home postcode.
  • Specify number of entries to be returned.
  • Carry out additional database queries before or after obtaining results for ultimate flexability.


• Data
  • The licence for our postcode searching toolkits includes an annual licence for use of postcode data of the UK from the Royal Mail. The postcode data of UK is embedded in the postcode searching toolkits and is available in two different levels of accuracy. You can either have Postcode Sector UK data or Postcode Unit UK data.
    
    
  • Sectors:
  • PHPostcode Sector includes postcode sector centroid data of the UK.
  • Finds the straight-line distance between the centroid of two or more postcode sectors (e.g. LS2 9).
  • Offers a flexible, efficient and highly cost-effective 'find my nearest' function.
  • Units:
  • PHPostcode Unit includes postcode unit centroid data of the UK (e.g. LS2 9AE) for about 1.7 million postcode units.
  • Finds the straight-line distance between the centroid of two or more postcode units (e.g. LS2 9AE).
  • Offers a more accurate and highly effective 'find my nearest' function.


• Functions Provided
  • The postcode searching toolkits provide the following functions. The exact parameter types are dependent on the language.
    • string formatpostcode(string postcode)
      Enter a valid postcode in the UK and it returns the proper form. E.g. "ls 29a-e." becomes "LS2 9AE".
    • array getcoords(string postcode)
      Returns an array of 2 elements - the easting and northing coordinates of the given (formatted or unformatted) postcode.
    • float distancebetween(string postcode1, string postcode2)
      Returns the straight-line distance in metres between the two given (formatted or unformatted) postcodes.
    • result findnearest(dbresult, string postcodefieldname, string customerpostcode, int numberrequired)
      Returns the nearest numberrequired records to customerpostcode. The result set will have at most numberrequired rows from the dbresult. postcodefieldname specifies the field in which records have their postcode data.
    • result findwithin(dbresult, string postcodefieldname, string customerpostcode, int radius)
      Returns all the records from dbresult that are within radius meters of customerpostcode. postcodefieldname specifies the field in which records have their postcode data.


• Technical Information
  PHPostcode
  • Requires PHP and supporting web-server (e.g. Apache / IIS).
  • Requires the PEAR::DB PHP extensions for functions accessing databases (not for finding co-ordinates or distance calculations).
  • PHPostcode is supplied as a single PHP file.
  • Postcode data supplised in a single data file.
  • Maximum of 50MB hard disk space (Unit version).
  • ASPostcode
    • Requires an ASP enabled web-server.
    • ASPostcode is supplied as a single ASP file.
    • Postcode data supplised in a single data file.
    • Maximum of 50MB hard disk space (Unit version).
  • VBPostcode
    • Requires .NET 2.0 Framework
    • VBPostcode is supplied as a single .NET dll.
    • Postcode data supplised in a single data file.
    • Maximum of 40MB hard disk space (Unit version).


• Pricing and Licencing
  • Licenced on an annual basis.
  • 60 Days of free technical support provided with all toolkits.
  • Purchased as a single product, either PHPostcode, ASPostcode or VBPostcode.
  • Please contact us for a Quote

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