I can only add that "wrong" zip codes are not too surprising to me. While it is true that there is only one zip code per MAILING address, that's only because the USPS says so, not because of some immutable truth of mapping. While there are those who offer "maps" of zip codes, they are actually approximate at the edges because the Post Office assigns the zip code for the convenience of delivery, not to make contiguous maps.
I suspect that Google uses a map-like solution to find zip codes vs. addresses, and a data-base solution to find zip codes from place names. The map-like solution will have problems at the edges. Another place I have seen this is in the County returned by the geoCoder. In the US, cities don't extend over County borders, but the "map-like" borders used by Google (you can display them in Google Earth, if you wish) are simplified and don't always exactly follow the wiggles of a city border. Addresses on the edge of town may geocode to the wrong county. So, as others have said, the geoCoder excels at returning lat-lng. The other details are gravy, but are not correct every time. Last, if you cared about the zip code (it doesn't sound like you do), the Post Office itself has a limited API that will return the 9-digit zip code for any valid address. And, by definition, they are ALWAYS correct. - Jeff On Nov 10, 8:36 am, Andrew Leach <[email protected]> wrote: > On 10 November 2011 16:13, Marcelo <[email protected]> wrote: > > > The problem is that any one address has one, and only one zip code, > > but the geocoder is returning one address with two different zip > > codes, depending on how you query it. > > > In one case it returns: > > 3510 N Yarbrough Dr, El Paso, TX 79935, USA > > > and in the other: > > 3510 N Yarbrough Dr, El Paso, TX 79925-1626, USA > > Hi Marcelo. Long time and all that. > > It appears the geocoder is doing two things: geocoding an address (and > getting the zipcode wrong) and finding a business (where its > associated details probably come from a different dataset and are > correct). > > It's certainly worth reporting that if you provide an address with the > correct zipcode, the results show a different, incorrect, one. > Something similar happened with UK postcodes once. > > However Rossko is right: a geocoder turns an address into coordinates > (you know that!), so it's doing its job if the coordinates are > acceptably correct. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Google Maps JavaScript API v3" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/google-maps-js-api-v3?hl=en.
