-Original Message-
From: Michael Egan [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: 02 April 2003 13:05
There are some ready made scripts for dealing with UK post
codes on the relevant page on the PHP site:
http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.ereg.php
And not one of them is 100% correct!! This would be my stab:
preg_match('/^([A-Z]{1,2}([0-9]{1,2})|[0-9][A-Z])|GIR)'
. ' ?[0-9][A-Z]{2}$/i', $postcode)
(I've divided the pattern in two here simply to avoid strange line wrapping!)
One of the user notes referred to says that postcodes are sometimes written with a
space after the initial letters; although technically this is incorrect, adjusting to
allow it would give:
preg_match('/^([A-Z]{1,2} ?([0-9]{1,2})|[0-9][A-Z])|GIR)'
. ' ?[0-9][A-Z]{2}$/i', $postcode)
Another states that the set of letters in the last two positions is restricted -- I
can't vouch for the accuracy of this, but if it's the case the match would become:
preg_match('/^([A-Z]{1,2} ?([0-9]{1,2})|[0-9][A-Z])|GIR)'
. ' ?[0-9]}[ABD-HJLNP-UW-Z]{2}$/i', $postcode)
Finally, if you really, really want to accept only completely valid postcodes (not
just validly formatted ones), you should get the full list of postcode area
identifiers (the initial letter or two) and validate against those -- plus any local
peculiarities that occur (for example, in my local postcode area, the final digit is 2
in *all* cases). (Well, I guess here we're getting into the realms of paying for the
Royal Mail's postcode database!!)
Cheers!
Mike
-
Mike Ford, Electronic Information Services Adviser,
Learning Support Services, Learning Information Services,
JG125, James Graham Building, Leeds Metropolitan University,
Beckett Park, LEEDS, LS6 3QS, United Kingdom
Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tel: +44 113 283 2600 extn 4730 Fax: +44 113 283 3211
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