On Wed, 1 Oct 1997, Andrew Daviel wrote:
> On Wed, 1 Oct 1997 [log in to unmask] wrote:
>
> > POSTAL CODES: this is easily handled in Coverage as a
> > scheme - e.g., "U.S.ZipCode". Andrew Daviel has reasons
> > why postal codes ain't perfect.
>
> Post codes are for sorting post for hand delivery, and may do
> interesting things like put opposite sides of the same street in different
> codes. The Canadian ones are radically different sizes in different parts
> of the country (by at least 3 orders of magnitude). However, as part
> of an address element, they're certainly valuable.
Post codes (in the UK at least) are also prone to unpredictable
reorganisation over time, as populations shift and grow. They can't
really be relied on to consistently name the same patch of earth from on
year to the next. (We had some trouble with this recently when trying to
build a postcode based system using official census statistics...)
Dan
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