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Zip Codes ctype? Pregmatch?

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  Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-20 13:27 -0400
    Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Martin Leese <please@see.Web.for.e-mail.INVALID> - 2013-08-20 11:59 -0600
      Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-20 15:01 -0400
    Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Robert Heller <heller@deepsoft.com> - 2013-08-20 13:08 -0500
      Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-20 15:03 -0400
        Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Robert Heller <heller@deepsoft.com> - 2013-08-20 14:36 -0500
          Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-20 20:17 -0400
    Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? RESOLVED Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-20 15:06 -0400
      Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? RESOLVED Norman Peelman <npeelman@cfl.rr.com> - 2013-08-20 19:53 -0400
        Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? RESOLVED Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-20 20:29 -0400
          Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? RESOLVED Moon Elf <moonelf@moonelfsystem.net> - 2013-12-16 10:02 +0000
            Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? RESOLVED Doug Miller <doug_at_milmac_dot_com@example.com> - 2013-12-16 12:27 +0000
    Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Norman Peelman <npeelman@cfl.rr.com> - 2013-08-20 19:52 -0400
      Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2013-08-21 14:53 +0200
        Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2013-08-21 14:58 +0200
          Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2013-08-21 15:06 +0200
            Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Curtis Dyer <dyer85@gmail.com> - 2013-08-24 10:22 +0000
              Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> - 2013-08-24 12:52 +0200
              Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Doug Miller <doug_at_milmac_dot_com@example.com> - 2013-08-25 14:31 +0000
                Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-25 13:21 -0400
              Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-25 13:17 -0400
        Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-21 19:10 -0400
          Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? BootNic <bootnic.bounce@gmail.com> - 2013-08-21 22:09 -0400
            Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-22 18:22 -0400
    Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Jeff North <jnorthau@yahoo.com.au> - 2013-08-21 21:25 +1000
      Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-21 18:53 -0400
        Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Norman Peelman <npeelman@cfl.rr.com> - 2013-08-21 22:46 -0400
    Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? gordonb.qnlcm@burditt.org (Gordon Burditt) - 2013-08-31 01:17 -0500
      Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Fiver <numeralfive@gmail.com> - 2013-08-31 16:40 +0200
        Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Norman Peelman <npeelman@cfl.rr.com> - 2013-08-31 11:56 -0400
          Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Welsh Vanner <welshvanners@welsh-vanners.co.uk> - 2013-08-31 20:23 +0100
          Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-31 20:21 -0400
        Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Martin Leese <please@see.Web.for.e-mail.INVALID> - 2013-08-31 09:56 -0600
      Re: Zip Codes  ctype? Pregmatch? Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> - 2013-08-31 20:07 -0400

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#10587 — Zip Codes ctype? Pregmatch?

Hi all,

I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes (postal codes). 
The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's five numerics and except 
"00000" and "99999". But Canadian is a different story because:
    It consists of alternating alpha and numeric characters (AnAnAn) but 
not the entire alphabet. 8 N.A. English letters are not used, as in 
DFIOQUW AND Z or put another way, they only use 18 letters in their 
postal codes.
    I haven't see a single example in all my research to check if the 
1st, 3rd, and 5th characters are alpha and th 2nd, 4th and 6th 
characters are numeric.

I've tried preg_match and strpos without succees, likely due to my own 
weakness with preg_match, and regex creates an incredibly long statement 
I'm sure it's not right to put upon the servers; they slow down even my 
local server XAMPP & PHP 5.3 on win 7.

Might anyone have a better method?

Or know of any functions anywhere that could be modified to be used?

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#10588

Twayne wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes (postal codes). 
> The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's five numerics and except 
> "00000" and "99999". But Canadian is a different story because:
>    It consists of alternating alpha and numeric characters (AnAnAn) but 
> not the entire alphabet. 8 N.A. English letters are not used, as in 
> DFIOQUW AND Z or put another way, they only use 18 letters in their 
> postal codes.

Note that postcodes must have a space in
the middle, ie, AnA nAn.  In practice,
however, there is so much brain-dead
software in use that believes otherwise, it
would be prudent to make the space optional.

 From the Canada Post Addressing Guide:
    "Postal codes must be printed in
     upper case with the first three
     elements separated from the last
     three by one space (no hyphens)."

-- 
Regards,
Martin Leese
E-mail: please@see.Web.for.e-mail.INVALID
Web: http://members.tripod.com/martin_leese/

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#10591

On 2013-08-20 1:59 PM, Martin Leese wrote:
...
>
>  From the Canada Post Addressing Guide:
>     "Postal codes must be printed in
>      upper case with the first three
>      elements separated from the last
>      three by one space (no hyphens)."
>

OUCH! Thanks! After more research I found a trail about that; forgot all 
the details but the space it seems is something special more than just 
esthetics.

Thanks much!

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#10589

At Tue, 20 Aug 2013 13:27:50 -0400 Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> wrote:

> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes (postal codes). 
> The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's five numerics and except 
> "00000" and "99999". 

5+4:

nnnnn-mmmm

Most of the time, just the basic 5 digits is enough, but sometimes the USPS 
wants the additional 4 digits as well.

Whether or not you include the extra 4 digits or not depends on what you are 
using the zip code for.  UPS and FexEX for example don't use the extra 4 
digits, but the USPS does.  The extra four digits are important mostly for big 
city addresses, where there might be multiple branch POs and/or delivery 
routes, etc. for a given post office.


-- 
Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933 / heller@deepsoft.com
Deepwoods Software        -- http://www.deepsoft.com/
()  ascii ribbon campaign -- against html e-mail
/\  www.asciiribbon.org   -- against proprietary attachments


                                          

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#10592

On 2013-08-20 2:08 PM, Robert Heller wrote:
> At Tue, 20 Aug 2013 13:27:50 -0400 Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes (postal codes).
>> The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's five numerics and except
>> "00000" and "99999".
>
> 5+4:
>
> nnnnn-mmmm
>
> Most of the time, just the basic 5 digits is enough, but sometimes the USPS
> wants the additional 4 digits as well.

Agreed; but in this case it's only to ID a country.
>
> Whether or not you include the extra 4 digits or not depends on what you are
> using the zip code for.  UPS and FexEX for example don't use the extra 4
> digits, but the USPS does.  The extra four digits are important mostly for big
> city addresses, where there might be multiple branch POs and/or delivery
> routes, etc. for a given post office.
>
>
Thanks,

Twayne`

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#10594

At Tue, 20 Aug 2013 15:03:48 -0400 Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> wrote:

> 
> On 2013-08-20 2:08 PM, Robert Heller wrote:
> > At Tue, 20 Aug 2013 13:27:50 -0400 Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes (postal codes).
> >> The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's five numerics and except
> >> "00000" and "99999".
> >
> > 5+4:
> >
> > nnnnn-mmmm
> >
> > Most of the time, just the basic 5 digits is enough, but sometimes the USPS
> > wants the additional 4 digits as well.
> 
> Agreed; but in this case it's only to ID a country.

You might need to 'accept' the extra 4 digits, since people are going to enter 
them and will be mifted if your page rejects it.  Just quietly drop the extra 
digits.

> >
> > Whether or not you include the extra 4 digits or not depends on what you are
> > using the zip code for.  UPS and FexEX for example don't use the extra 4
> > digits, but the USPS does.  The extra four digits are important mostly for big
> > city addresses, where there might be multiple branch POs and/or delivery
> > routes, etc. for a given post office.
> >
> >
> Thanks,
> 
> Twayne`
>                                                                                                               

-- 
Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933 / heller@deepsoft.com
Deepwoods Software        -- http://www.deepsoft.com/
()  ascii ribbon campaign -- against html e-mail
/\  www.asciiribbon.org   -- against proprietary attachments


                                       

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#10598

On 2013-08-20 3:36 PM, Robert Heller wrote:
> At Tue, 20 Aug 2013 15:03:48 -0400 Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> On 2013-08-20 2:08 PM, Robert Heller wrote:
>>> At Tue, 20 Aug 2013 13:27:50 -0400 Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Hi all,
>>>>
>>>> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes (postal codes).
>>>> The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's five numerics and except
>>>> "00000" and "99999".
>>>
>>> 5+4:
>>>
>>> nnnnn-mmmm
>>>
>>> Most of the time, just the basic 5 digits is enough, but sometimes the USPS
>>> wants the additional 4 digits as well.
>>
>> Agreed; but in this case it's only to ID a country.
>
> You might need to 'accept' the extra 4 digits, since people are going to enter
> them and will be mifted if your page rejects it.  Just quietly drop the extra
> digits.
>
>>>
>>> Whether or not you include the extra 4 digits or not depends on what you are
>>> using the zip code for.  UPS and FexEX for example don't use the extra 4
>>> digits, but the USPS does.  The extra four digits are important mostly for big
>>> city addresses, where there might be multiple branch POs and/or delivery
>>> routes, etc. for a given post office.
>>>
>>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Twayne`
>>
>
I hear you, but when I specifically ask for a 5-digit US Zip Code if the 
person wants to insist on 9, that's not the kind of person I want to 
hear from anyway.
     Besides, a 9-digit code is a lot more personal information than is 
needed and very few people want to give away more information about 
themselves than is necessary. A 9 digit zip code can in many cases lead 
you right to a person's street address. With a name and an address, it's 
only a short step to their ss# being compromised and then the field is 
set for full identity theft.

Regards,

Twayne`

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#10593 — Re: Zip Codes ctype? Pregmatch? RESOLVED

As usual, after futzing with a problem for a couple days and end up 
finally finding multiple solutions.

Thanks all,

Twayne`


On 2013-08-20 1:27 PM, Twayne wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes (postal codes).
> The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's five numerics and except
> "00000" and "99999". But Canadian is a different story because:
>     It consists of alternating alpha and numeric characters (AnAnAn) but
> not the entire alphabet. 8 N.A. English letters are not used, as in
> DFIOQUW AND Z or put another way, they only use 18 letters in their
> postal codes.
>     I haven't see a single example in all my research to check if the
> 1st, 3rd, and 5th characters are alpha and th 2nd, 4th and 6th
> characters are numeric.
>
> I've tried preg_match and strpos without succees, likely due to my own
> weakness with preg_match, and regex creates an incredibly long statement
> I'm sure it's not right to put upon the servers; they slow down even my
> local server XAMPP & PHP 5.3 on win 7.
>
> Might anyone have a better method?
>
> Or know of any functions anywhere that could be modified to be used?
>

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#10597 — Re: Zip Codes ctype? Pregmatch? RESOLVED

On 08/20/2013 03:06 PM, Twayne wrote:
> As usual, after futzing with a problem for a couple days and end up
> finally finding multiple solutions.
>
> Thanks all,
>
> Twayne`
>
>
> On 2013-08-20 1:27 PM, Twayne wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes (postal codes).
>> The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's five numerics and except
>> "00000" and "99999". But Canadian is a different story because:
>>     It consists of alternating alpha and numeric characters (AnAnAn) but
>> not the entire alphabet. 8 N.A. English letters are not used, as in
>> DFIOQUW AND Z or put another way, they only use 18 letters in their
>> postal codes.
>>     I haven't see a single example in all my research to check if the
>> 1st, 3rd, and 5th characters are alpha and th 2nd, 4th and 6th
>> characters are numeric.
>>
>> I've tried preg_match and strpos without succees, likely due to my own
>> weakness with preg_match, and regex creates an incredibly long statement
>> I'm sure it's not right to put upon the servers; they slow down even my
>> local server XAMPP & PHP 5.3 on win 7.
>>
>> Might anyone have a better method?
>>
>> Or know of any functions anywhere that could be modified to be used?
>>
>

   I responded even though you SOLVED... at least let us know what your 
solution was.

-- 
Norman
Registered Linux user #461062
-Have you been to www.php.net yet?-

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#10599 — Re: Zip Codes ctype? Pregmatch? RESOLVED

On 2013-08-20 7:53 PM, Norman Peelman wrote:
> On 08/20/2013 03:06 PM, Twayne wrote:

...

>>
>
>    I responded even though you SOLVED... at least let us know what your
> solution was.
>

Oh, sorry; guess I was in a hurry. I simply came across a couple of 
methods, neither of which was properly coded, and use a combo of the two 
methods to assemble mine. If you're interested, here's a crimp sheet I 
collected:
--------------
   From the Canada Post Addressing Guide:
      "Postal codes must be printed in
       upper case with the first three
       elements separated from the last
       three by one space (no hyphens)."

=================================================


  POSTAL CODES FOR 12 COUNTRIES

<?php
$country_code="US";
$zip_postal="11111";

$ZIPREG=array(
	"US"=>"^\d{5}([\-]?\d{4})?$",
	"UK"=>"^(GIR|[A-Z]\d[A-Z\d]??|[A-Z]{2}\d[A-Z\d]??)[ ]??(\d[A-Z]{2})$",
	"DE"=>"\b((?:0[1-46-9]\d{3})|(?:[1-357-9]\d{4})|(?:[4][0-24-9]\d{3})|(?:[6][013-9]\d{3}))\b",
	"CA"=>"^([ABCEGHJKLMNPRSTVXY]\d[ABCEGHJKLMNPRSTVWXYZ])\ 
{0,1}(\d[ABCEGHJKLMNPRSTVWXYZ]\d)$",
	"FR"=>"^(F-)?((2[A|B])|[0-9]{2})[0-9]{3}$",
	"IT"=>"^(V-|I-)?[0-9]{5}$",
	"AU"=>"^(0[289][0-9]{2})|([1345689][0-9]{3})|(2[0-8][0-9]{2})|(290[0-9])|(291[0-4])|(7[0-4][0-9]{2})|(7[8-9][0-9]{2})$",
	"NL"=>"^[1-9][0-9]{3}\s?([a-zA-Z]{2})?$",
	"ES"=>"^([1-9]{2}|[0-9][1-9]|[1-9][0-9])[0-9]{3}$",
	"DK"=>"^([D-d][K-k])?( |-)?[1-9]{1}[0-9]{3}$",
	"SE"=>"^(s-|S-){0,1}[0-9]{3}\s?[0-9]{2}$",
	"BE"=>"^[1-9]{1}[0-9]{3}$"
);

if ($ZIPREG[$country_code]) {

	if (!preg_match("/".$ZIPREG[$country_code]."/i",$zip_postal)){
		//Validation failed, provided zip/postal code is not valid.
	} else {
		//Validation passed, provided zip/postal code is valid.
	}

} else {

	//Validation not available

}

=======================================================================
OR ...



     function fnValidatePostal($mValue, $sRegion = '')
     {
     $mValue = strtolower($mValue));
     $sFirst = substr($mValue, 0, 1);
     $sRegion = strtolower($sRegion);

     $aRegion = array(
     'nl' => 'a',
     'ns' => 'b',
     'pe' => 'c',
     'nb' => 'e',
     'qc' => array('g', 'h', 'j'),
     'on' => array('k', 'l', 'm', 'n', 'p'),
     'mb' => 'r',
     'sk' => 's',
     'ab' => 't',
     'bc' => 'v',
     'nt' => 'x',
     'nu' => 'x',
     'yt' => 'y'
     );

     if (preg_match('/[abceghjlkmnprstvxy]/', $sFirst) && 
!preg_match('/[dfioqu]/', $mValue) && preg_match('/^\w\d\w[- 
]?\d\w\d$/', $mValue))
     {
     if (!empty($sRegion) && array_key_exists($sRegion, $aRegion))
     {
     if (is_array($aRegion[$sRegion]) && in_array($sFirst, 
$aRegion[$sRegion]))
     {
     return true;
     }
     else if (is_string($aRegion[$sRegion]) && $sFirst == 
$aRegion[$sRegion])
     {
     return true;
     }
     }
     else if (empty($sRegion))
     {
     return true;
     }
     }

     return false;
     }
===================================================
AND

===========================================================

     Sounds like a regexp pattern like:

     Code:

     /^(?:[A-CEGHJ-NPR-TVX][0-9]){3}$/

     could be used to validate the form of a given Canadian postal code 
based on the description you gave. (Whether or not the postal code is 
truly valid/used is, of course, another matter altogether.)


     All that being said, I see that Canada Post has an API (and I'm 
fairly sure the USPS does, too) ... you might actually check validity 
with the code issuing authority at the time of submission....
------------------------



I'm most interested in using the API's that are available though as when 
I figure out how to access them programatically I'll do so. Most of the 
places I want to validate postal codes turn out to have an online API, 
seriously relieving me of a lot of code and nullifying the possibility 
of future changes, although there apparently have been few in the last 
decade or so.
    I'm a neophyte with little experience in these matters yet.

Cheers,

Twayne`

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#12286 — Re: Zip Codes ctype? Pregmatch? RESOLVED

On 2013-08-21, Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> wrote:
> On 2013-08-20 7:53 PM, Norman Peelman wrote:
>> On 08/20/2013 03:06 PM, Twayne wrote:
>
> ...
>
>>>
>>
>>    I responded even though you SOLVED... at least let us know what your
>> solution was.
>>
>
> Oh, sorry; guess I was in a hurry. I simply came across a couple of 
> methods, neither of which was properly coded, and use a combo of the two 
> methods to assemble mine. If you're interested, here's a crimp sheet I 
> collected:
> --------------
>    From the Canada Post Addressing Guide:
>       "Postal codes must be printed in
>        upper case with the first three
>        elements separated from the last
>        three by one space (no hyphens)."
>
>=================================================
>
>
>   POSTAL CODES FOR 12 COUNTRIES
>
><?php
> $country_code="US";
> $zip_postal="11111";
>
> $ZIPREG=array(
> 	"US"=>"^\d{5}([\-]?\d{4})?$",
> 	"UK"=>"^(GIR|[A-Z]\d[A-Z\d]??|[A-Z]{2}\d[A-Z\d]??)[ ]??(\d[A-Z]{2})$",
> 	"DE"=>"\b((?:0[1-46-9]\d{3})|(?:[1-357-9]\d{4})|(?:[4][0-24-9]\d{3})|(?:[6][013-9]\d{3}))\b",
> 	"CA"=>"^([ABCEGHJKLMNPRSTVXY]\d[ABCEGHJKLMNPRSTVWXYZ])\ 
> {0,1}(\d[ABCEGHJKLMNPRSTVWXYZ]\d)$",
> 	"FR"=>"^(F-)?((2[A|B])|[0-9]{2})[0-9]{3}$",
> 	"IT"=>"^(V-|I-)?[0-9]{5}$",
> 	"AU"=>"^(0[289][0-9]{2})|([1345689][0-9]{3})|(2[0-8][0-9]{2})|(290[0-9])|(291[0-4])|(7[0-4][0-9]{2})|(7[8-9][0-9]{2})$",
> 	"NL"=>"^[1-9][0-9]{3}\s?([a-zA-Z]{2})?$",
> 	"ES"=>"^([1-9]{2}|[0-9][1-9]|[1-9][0-9])[0-9]{3}$",
> 	"DK"=>"^([D-d][K-k])?( |-)?[1-9]{1}[0-9]{3}$",
> 	"SE"=>"^(s-|S-){0,1}[0-9]{3}\s?[0-9]{2}$",
> 	"BE"=>"^[1-9]{1}[0-9]{3}$"
> );
>

A faster algorithm would be to use regexes which use .+ .* with a unique
fingerprint. The above code is grinding your system probably.

I am sure tutorials such as Mastering Regular Expressions 2nd ed. would help 
out.

> if ($ZIPREG[$country_code]) {
>
> 	if (!preg_match("/".$ZIPREG[$country_code]."/i",$zip_postal)){
> 		//Validation failed, provided zip/postal code is not valid.
> 	} else {
> 		//Validation passed, provided zip/postal code is valid.
> 	}
>
> } else {
>
> 	//Validation not available
>
> }
>
>=======================================================================
> OR ...
>
>
>
>      function fnValidatePostal($mValue, $sRegion = '')
>      {
>      $mValue = strtolower($mValue));
>      $sFirst = substr($mValue, 0, 1);
>      $sRegion = strtolower($sRegion);
>
>      $aRegion = array(
>      'nl' => 'a',
>      'ns' => 'b',
>      'pe' => 'c',
>      'nb' => 'e',
>      'qc' => array('g', 'h', 'j'),
>      'on' => array('k', 'l', 'm', 'n', 'p'),
>      'mb' => 'r',
>      'sk' => 's',
>      'ab' => 't',
>      'bc' => 'v',
>      'nt' => 'x',
>      'nu' => 'x',
>      'yt' => 'y'
>      );
>
>      if (preg_match('/[abceghjlkmnprstvxy]/', $sFirst) && 
> !preg_match('/[dfioqu]/', $mValue) && preg_match('/^\w\d\w[- 
> ]?\d\w\d$/', $mValue))
>      {
>      if (!empty($sRegion) && array_key_exists($sRegion, $aRegion))
>      {
>      if (is_array($aRegion[$sRegion]) && in_array($sFirst, 
> $aRegion[$sRegion]))
>      {
>      return true;
>      }
>      else if (is_string($aRegion[$sRegion]) && $sFirst == 
> $aRegion[$sRegion])
>      {
>      return true;
>      }
>      }
>      else if (empty($sRegion))
>      {
>      return true;
>      }
>      }
>
>      return false;
>      }

Usually you do not test on vars unless you don't know at runtime what they
are which is not good coding practice.

>===================================================
> AND
>
>===========================================================
>
>      Sounds like a regexp pattern like:
>
>      Code:
>
>      /^(?:[A-CEGHJ-NPR-TVX][0-9]){3}$/
>
>      could be used to validate the form of a given Canadian postal code 
> based on the description you gave. (Whether or not the postal code is 
> truly valid/used is, of course, another matter altogether.)
>
>
>      All that being said, I see that Canada Post has an API (and I'm 
> fairly sure the USPS does, too) ... you might actually check validity 
> with the code issuing authority at the time of submission....
> ------------------------
>
>
>
> I'm most interested in using the API's that are available though as when 
> I figure out how to access them programatically I'll do so. Most of the 
> places I want to validate postal codes turn out to have an online API, 
> seriously relieving me of a lot of code and nullifying the possibility 
> of future changes, although there apparently have been few in the last 
> decade or so.
>     I'm a neophyte with little experience in these matters yet.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Twayne`

PHP is procedural if you want, which I like but you need to be clever in what
you write, procedurally or not.

ME

-- 
Member of the DR rogue circle. 
Search and you will find. 

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#12289 — Re: Zip Codes ctype? Pregmatch? RESOLVED

Moon Elf <moonelf@moonelfsystem.net> wrote in news:slrnlatjrr.dlu.moonelf@sigtrans.org:

> On 2013-08-21, Twayne <nobody@spamcop.net> wrote:
[...]
>><?php
>> $country_code="US";
>> $zip_postal="11111";
>>
>> $ZIPREG=array(
>>      "US"=>"^\d{5}([\-]?\d{4})?$",
[...]
> 
> A faster algorithm would be to use regexes which use .+ .* with a unique
> fingerprint. The above code is grinding your system probably.
> 
> I am sure tutorials such as Mastering Regular Expressions 2nd ed. would help 
> out.

Never mind that -- the bigger problem is that it's just plain wrong. Comparing to a RegEx can 
determine only if a postal code has the correct *format*, not if it is actually a valid code.

According to this ,
> 
>> if ($ZIPREG[$country_code]) {
>>
>>      if (!preg_match("/".$ZIPREG[$country_code]."/i",$zip_postal)){
>>           //Validation failed, provided zip/postal code is not valid.
>>      } else {
>>           //Validation passed, provided zip/postal code is valid.
>>      }

00000-0000 is a "valid" US postal code. It's not. It's correctly *formatted*, but its contents do 
not correspond to a valid ZIP+4.

99999 also fails; it matches the RegEx, but is not a valid ZIP code. Same problem with 
11111, 22222, 33333, and 54321 -- and thousands of others. Out of the 100,000 possible 5-
digit zip codes, less than 42,000 are actually in use, but this algorithm will say that all 100,000 
of them are valid.

And since only 42K out of 100K 5-digit zip codes are actually in use, *at most* 420 million of 
the one billion possible ZIP+4 codes can be valid, making *at least* 580 million *more* 
invalid ZIP+4 codes that this algorithm will incorrectly declare to be valid.

It's pretty likely that similar problems exist for the other 11 nations as well.

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#10596

On 08/20/2013 01:27 PM, Twayne wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes (postal codes).
> The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's five numerics and except
> "00000" and "99999". But Canadian is a different story because:
>     It consists of alternating alpha and numeric characters (AnAnAn) but
> not the entire alphabet. 8 N.A. English letters are not used, as in
> DFIOQUW AND Z or put another way, they only use 18 letters in their
> postal codes.
>     I haven't see a single example in all my research to check if the
> 1st, 3rd, and 5th characters are alpha and th 2nd, 4th and 6th
> characters are numeric.
>
> I've tried preg_match and strpos without succees, likely due to my own
> weakness with preg_match, and regex creates an incredibly long statement
> I'm sure it's not right to put upon the servers; they slow down even my
> local server XAMPP & PHP 5.3 on win 7.
>
> Might anyone have a better method?
>
> Or know of any functions anywhere that could be modified to be used?
>

US Zip code:
[0-9]{5}(-{0,1}[0-9]{4}){0,1}

Canadian zip code (all one line, don't miss the space!):
([A-C,E,G-H,J-N,P,R-T,V,X,Y]{1}[0-9]{1})[A-C,E,G-H,J-N,P,R-T,V,X,Y]{1} 
{1}([0-9]{1}[A-C,E,G-H,J-N,P,R-T,V,X,Y]{1}[0-9]{1})


-- 
Norman
Registered Linux user #461062
-Have you been to www.php.net yet?-

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#10601

Norman Peelman wrote:

> On 08/20/2013 01:27 PM, Twayne wrote:
>> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes (postal codes).
>> The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's five numerics and except
>> "00000" and "99999". But Canadian is a different story because:
>>     It consists of alternating alpha and numeric characters (AnAnAn) but
>> not the entire alphabet. 8 N.A. English letters are not used, as in
>> DFIOQUW AND Z or put another way, they only use 18 letters in their
>> postal codes.
>>     I haven't see a single example in all my research to check if the
>> 1st, 3rd, and 5th characters are alpha and th 2nd, 4th and 6th
>> characters are numeric.
>>
>> I've tried preg_match and strpos without succees, likely due to my own
>> weakness with preg_match, and regex creates an incredibly long statement
>> I'm sure it's not right to put upon the servers; they slow down even my
>> local server XAMPP & PHP 5.3 on win 7.
>>
>> Might anyone have a better method?
>>
>> Or know of any functions anywhere that could be modified to be used?
> 
> US Zip code:
> [0-9]{5}(-{0,1}[0-9]{4}){0,1}
  ^^^^^     ^^^^^^^^^^    ^^^^^
In Perl-Compatible Regular Expressions (PCRE), as also used by PHP's preg_* 
functions, the following shorthands are available:

  - “*” for “{0,}”
  - “?” for “{0,1}”
  - “+” for “{1,}”
  - “\d” for “[0-9]” (includes more numeric characters in “UTF-8 mode”)

Thus, the above expression can be simplified to

  \d{5}(-?\d{4})?

However, the specification above says that “00000” and “99999” are _not_ 
valid U.S. ZIP codes, so to be exact you cannot just use either “[0-9]{5}” 
or “\d{5}”; but you would have to use, for example, a zero-width negative 
lookahead:

  $possibleZips = array('00000', '00001', '99998', '99999');
  foreach ($possibleZips as $possibleZip)
  {
    preg_match('^(?![09]{5})\\d{5}(?:-?\\d{4})?$', $possibleZip, $matches);
    var_dump($possibleZip);
    var_dump($matches);
  }

(thanks to Anubhava: <http://stackoverflow.com/a/9609624/855543>)
 
> Canadian zip code (all one line, don't miss the space!):
> ([A-C,E,G-H,J-N,P,R-T,V,X,Y]{1}[0-9]{1})[A-C,E,G-H,J-N,P,R-T,V,X,Y]{1}
       ^                      ^^^^^^^^
> {1}([0-9]{1}[A-C,E,G-H,J-N,P,R-T,V,X,Y]{1}[0-9]{1})

“{1}” is superfluous in all regular expression flavours (in BRE the escaped 
variant is superfluous).  An expression that matches, matches exactly one 
time unless a following quantifier says otherwise.

In a character class expression, ranges are _not_ delimited by comma.
A comma there is a *literal* comma instead (just like most other special 
characters lose, and “-” gains meaning), and repetitions are ignored:

  [A-C,E,G-H,J-N,P,R-T,V,X,Y]

matches the same strings as

  [A-CEG-HJ-NPR-TVXY,]

So unless you want to allow commas in ZIP codes, you need to remove them 
from the respective character class.

Thus, the above expression would have to be changed, and can be simplified 
to

  ^(?:[A-CEG-HJ-NPR-TVXY]\d){3}$

(The “^” makes sure that the second, fourth, aso. character must be a digit.  
Let \s* follow it if you want to allow leading whitespace.  Likewise for “$” 
and trailing whitespace.)

Anyhow, if an expression is repeated, and this repetition cannot be handled 
with a quantifier like above, in programming languages like PHP that allow 
this, code is easier readable if you assign the repeated expression to a 
variable, and have the variable reference expanded:

  $cdn_letter = '[A-CEG-HJ-NPR-TVXY]';
  $pattern = "^{$cdn_letter}\\d{$cdn_letter}\\d{$cdn_letter}\\d\$";

[In certain programming languages, libraries like my JSX:regexp.js [1] are 
useful that allow you to define and use your own character class escape 
sequences, eliminating the need for variable expansion: "\\p{cdnLetter}".]

Note that expansion/repetition is semantically different from expression 
backreferences:

  $pattern2 = "([A-CEG-HJ-NPR-TVXY])\\d\\1\\d\\1\\d";

$pattern would match "A1B2C3"; $pattern2 would match "A1A2A3", but not 
"A1B2C3".


PointedEars
___________
[1] <http://PointedEars.de/scripts/test/regexp> p.
-- 
Use any version of Microsoft Frontpage to create your site.
(This won't prevent people from viewing your source, but no one
will want to steal it.)
  -- from <http://www.vortex-webdesign.com/help/hidesource.htm> (404-comp.)

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#10602

Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:

> Norman Peelman wrote:
>> On 08/20/2013 01:27 PM, Twayne wrote:
>>> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes (postal codes).
>>> The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's five numerics and except
>>> "00000" and "99999". […]
>> 
>> US Zip code:
>> [0-9]{5}(-{0,1}[0-9]{4}){0,1}
>   ^^^^^     ^^^^^^^^^^    ^^^^^
> In Perl-Compatible Regular Expressions (PCRE), as also used by PHP's
> preg_* functions, the following shorthands are available:
> 
>   - “*” for “{0,}”
>   - “?” for “{0,1}”
>   - “+” for “{1,}”
>   - “\d” for “[0-9]” (includes more numeric characters in “UTF-8 mode”)
> 
> Thus, the above expression can be simplified to
> 
>   \d{5}(-?\d{4})?
> 
> However, the specification above says that “00000” and “99999” are _not_
> valid U.S. ZIP codes, so to be exact you cannot just use either “[0-9]{5}”
> or “\d{5}”; but you would have to use, for example, a zero-width negative
> lookahead:
> 
>   $possibleZips = array('00000', '00001', '99998', '99999');
>   foreach ($possibleZips as $possibleZip)
>   {
>     preg_match('^(?![09]{5})\\d{5}(?:-?\\d{4})?$', $possibleZip,

Replace this line with

    preg_match('/^(?![09]{5})\\d{5}(?:-?\\d{4})?$/', $possibleZip,

(add the delimiter).

>       $matches);
>     var_dump($possibleZip);
>     var_dump($matches);
>   }
> 
> (thanks to Anubhava: <http://stackoverflow.com/a/9609624/855543>)

-- 
PointedEars

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#10603

Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:

> Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:
>> Norman Peelman wrote:
>>> On 08/20/2013 01:27 PM, Twayne wrote:
>>>> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes (postal codes).
>>>> The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's five numerics and except
>>>> "00000" and "99999". […]
>>> 
>>> US Zip code:
>>> [0-9]{5}(-{0,1}[0-9]{4}){0,1}
>>   ^^^^^     ^^^^^^^^^^    ^^^^^
>> […]
>> However, the specification above says that “00000” and “99999” are _not_
>> valid U.S. ZIP codes, so to be exact you cannot just use either
>> “[0-9]{5}” or “\d{5}”; but you would have to use, for example, a
>> zero-width negative lookahead:
>> 
>>   $possibleZips = array('00000', '00001', '99998', '99999');

  $possibleZips = array('00000', '00001', '99998', '90909', '99999');

>>   foreach ($possibleZips as $possibleZip)
>>   {
>>     preg_match('^(?![09]{5})\\d{5}(?:-?\\d{4})?$', $possibleZip,
> 
> Replace this line with
> 
>     preg_match('/^(?![09]{5})\\d{5}(?:-?\\d{4})?$/', $possibleZip,
> 
> (add the delimiter).

Which is still not correct, because '/[09]{5}/' matches "90909", which is 
thus designated not valid.  ISTM that alternation is required here:

    preg_match('/^(?!0{5}|9{5})\\d{5}(?:-?\\d{4})?$/', $possibleZip);


PointedEars
-- 
var bugRiddenCrashPronePieceOfJunk = (
    navigator.userAgent.indexOf('MSIE 5') != -1
    && navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Mac') != -1
)  // Plone, register_function.js:16

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#10610

Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> wrote:

> Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:
> 
>> Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:
>>> Norman Peelman wrote:
>>>> On 08/20/2013 01:27 PM, Twayne wrote:
>>>>> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes
>>>>> (postal codes). The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's
>>>>> five numerics and except "00000" and "99999". […]

<snip>

>> Replace this line with
>> 
>>     preg_match('/^(?![09]{5})\\d{5}(?:-?\\d{4})?$/',
>>     $possibleZip, 
>> 
>> (add the delimiter).
> 
> Which is still not correct, because '/[09]{5}/' matches "90909",
> which is thus designated not valid.  ISTM that alternation is
> required here: 
> 
>     preg_match('/^(?!0{5}|9{5})\\d{5}(?:-?\\d{4})?$/',
>     $possibleZip); 

Perhaps you might also keep invalid postal codes in an array to look 
up before utilizing the regular expression.

<snip>

-- 
Curtis Dyer
<?$x='<?$x=%c%s%c;printf($x,39,$x,39);?>';printf($x,39,$x,39);?>

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#10611

Curtis Dyer wrote:

> Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn <PointedEars@web.de> wrote:
>> Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:
>>> Thomas 'PointedEars' Lahn wrote:
>>>> Norman Peelman wrote:
>>>>> On 08/20/2013 01:27 PM, Twayne wrote:
>>>>>> I'm attempting to check for US and Canadian zip codes
>>>>>> (postal codes). The US is easy; mostly just be sure it's
>>>>>> five numerics and except "00000" and "99999". […]
> 
> <snip>
> 
>>> Replace this line with
>>> 
>>>     preg_match('/^(?![09]{5})\\d{5}(?:-?\\d{4})?$/',
>>>     $possibleZip,
>>> 
>>> (add the delimiter).
>> 
>> Which is still not correct, because '/[09]{5}/' matches "90909",
>> which is thus designated not valid.  ISTM that alternation is
>> required here:
>> 
>>     preg_match('/^(?!0{5}|9{5})\\d{5}(?:-?\\d{4})?$/',
>>     $possibleZip);
> 
> Perhaps you might also keep invalid postal codes in an array to look
> up before utilizing the regular expression.

I did that exactly where you snipped.


PointedEars
-- 
Anyone who slaps a 'this page is best viewed with Browser X' label on
a Web page appears to be yearning for the bad old days, before the Web,
when you had very little chance of reading a document written on another
computer, another word processor, or another network. -- Tim Berners-Lee

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#10613

Curtis Dyer <dyer85@gmail.com> wrote in news:kva1hr$rc0$1@dont-email.me:

> Perhaps you might also keep invalid postal codes in an array to look 
> up before utilizing the regular expression.

What happens when new postal codes are added?

Perhaps one might simply send a request to the USPS address validation API to find out if it's 
a valid zip code or not. Use the "City-State Lookup" tool described here:

https://www.usps.com/business/web-tools-apis/address-information.htm

I don't know if Canada Post has similar tools.

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#10615

On 2013-08-25 10:31 AM, Doug Miller wrote:
> Curtis Dyer <dyer85@gmail.com> wrote in news:kva1hr$rc0$1@dont-email.me:
>
>> Perhaps you might also keep invalid postal codes in an array to look
>> up before utilizing the regular expression.
>
> What happens when new postal codes are added?
>
> Perhaps one might simply send a request to the USPS address validation API to find out if it's
> a valid zip code or not. Use the "City-State Lookup" tool described here:
>
> https://www.usps.com/business/web-tools-apis/address-information.htm
>
> I don't know if Canada Post has similar tools.
>

Someone said there was a CDN API but I haven't gotten to it yet, though 
I have seen it. Haven't tried to programmatically access it yet though; 
want to finish up what I've been doing.

Thanks

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