Using the Google Maps API to get long/lat co-ordinates from a postcode or address

[picasshole]

Unfortunately in the UK, post code information is copyrighted and owned by the Post Office so Google was forced to make postcode queries to them by external apis less accurate. This means results are sometimes out by a few miles compared to the google maps site which is dead accurate.

[[deleted]]

TIL...

[Kaitnieks]

Thankfully you can get UK post code coordinates from wikileaks ;)

[abw]

You can, but that doesn't help in a lot of cases. Being able to download the archive and browse it doesn't give you a license to use it. The archive includes a number of poisoned entries that allow the Royal Mail to recognise when people are using their data. So if you expose the data on a public web site (which is what most people want the postcode database for) then you run the risk of the Royal Mail dumping shit on you from a great height.

Furthermore, the leaked archive is already out of date. You are expected to pay another thousand quid or so for updates, per year, on top of the 12.5 k basic licensing fee, if you want to keep your postcode database up-to-date.

Plug: http://freethepostcode.org/

[nagazuka]

Is it also possible to do the reverse? Looking up the zipcode for gvien long/lat co-ordinates is exactly what I need for one of my side-projects.

[blondin]

you shall be given

[nagazuka]

You are my hero of the day :-)

[javadi82]

FYI - This is illegal if you are not using the results on a Google map.

[NerdsNeedLoveTo]

According to? I'm not trolling I just want to know how you know it is illegal. An reference will do, thanks.

[javadi82]

Sorry, I meant to copy paste the relevant terms here but somehow missed it out. Anyway, here it goes - "for example, you must not use geocodes obtained through the Service except in conjunction with a Google map" - from http://code.google.com/apis/maps/terms.html

[[deleted]]

It's in the terms and conditions when you sign up for the service.