>>>>> In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Norman Walsh <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Norman> / Alex Schroeder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> was heard to say:
Norman> | Maybe we should make it our goal for the next file version to switch
Norman> | to plain strings... :)
Norman> It gets my vote.
<aol>Me too</aol>
I've just been bitten by this again with Thomas Deweese's otherwise
excellent SyncBBDB (now I'vew got it running).
BBDB has no business trying to understand postcodes. One person's
idea of `normalisation' is another's mutilation. I've seen too much
broken `smart' software that only believes in numeric postcodes,
mandatory 2 character `states', 3 digit area codes (always displayed
between braces) and names of the form firstname, middle initial,
surname (I have 4 and don't use the first).
BBDB actually does a fairly good job of the last, with the exception
of non-human entries who get sorted by the last word in their `name',
but makes the phone area code mistake - UK area codes are usually a
*minimum* of 3 digits (often 4 or 5) and have a leading `0' which
BBDB strips by trying to store it as a number instead of a string.
I don't know what the `right' answer is for phone numbers; on the one
hand opaque strings allow the user to use their country's favoured
style for writing numbers (braces, dashes, dotted pairs etc), on the
other it might be useful to split the number into country code, area
code, number, long distance prefix, external line prefix etc. Then
BBDB could do the `right' thing by displaying the number you need to
dial for the location you are in, can more easily allow automated
renumbering when area codes change and those lucky people with Palms
and Nokia phones can get their BBDB phone numbers transported over
(via GSMtool etc) in international form so they can speed dial even
when roaming...
Er.. rambling....
I vote for opaque strings everywhere as that should be the least
amount of work and the most portable solution. Trying to keep up with
every country's rules for displaying postcodes and phone numbers is
probably an impossible task
--
Kevin Davidson Decisionhouse Systems Group
Quadstone Limited 16 Chester Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH3 7RA
Tel: +44 (0)131 220 4491 Fax: +44 (0)131 220 4492
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