On Fri, Jan 18, 2008 at 12:50:44AM +0000, Martin Ebourne wrote:
> Don't forget the BFPO postcodes as well.
And the handful of XXXX 1ZZ postcodes too, for places like Ascension
Island :-)
> Sites really shouldn't try to validate this stuff.
A common error - and one that provokes hate so we're back on topic! - is
assuming that the data you can get from the Royal Mail is both complete
and accurate. It ain't. They update the database quarterly, I think,
but they create shiny new postcodes all the time. And for some
addresses in the database, the postcode is Just Plain Wrong.
A few years ago I tried to do my shopping online with Tesco. I
couldn't, despite the fact that they deliver to my street, despite the
fact that they managed to send correctly addressed junk mail (with the
post code, even!). The reason being that to tell them the delivery address
I first had to type my post code and then had to choose from a drop down
list of addresses. None of which was mine.
Sensible companies know that these errors exist, and also allow
free-text entry. Tesco didn't at the time.
And even more hateful is that the Royal Mail refuse to correct this
error.
Oh GOOD sigmonster!
--
David Cantrell | London Perl Mongers Deputy Chief Heretic
" In My Egotistical Opinion, most people's ... programs should be
indented six feet downward and covered with dirt. "
--Blair P. Houghton
