Location Enabled Applications

SUBDIST,PCDIST - Postcode and Suburb Distance Tables - Australia and New Zealand

Distance tables are ideal for web services relating customer query to find nearest postcode or suburb and is the basis for such search applications such as "find my nearest..."

For example: Add a field to "Enter your postcode", add a "Go" button. You can then use the entered postcode to lookup against your list of dealer location postcodes to find the nearest dealer name and address which you can then promptly return to the user.

The distance table is offered with 2 levels of accuracy:

• Postcode

Postcodes are the best choice for the simplest use entry to accept and validate and is also the smallest distance table to load and suits most applications where a reasonable number of possible search results is likely.

• Individual Suburb

Suburbs are the best choice for high levels of accuracy where fine tuning of distance, eg 2 kms, 5kms, .. is desired since the individual suburbs are used, instead of whole-of-postcode, give good results in both metro and regional situations and where large numbers of potential results may occur (eg real estate).

Each table is then offered with 2 levels of distance measurement:

• Straight line

This is the simplest method of distance comparison, and typical of basic point-to-point coordinate based applications but expressed in a table format for simple database lookup.

This version is suitable for budget applications and where a basic search results sorting is sufficient or where the number of likely results is relatively low.

• By Road (when in major metro area, is straight line elsewhere)

When the locations are within a major metro area (eg Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane..) the shortest major road distance is calculated to give a true distance value compared to the simple straight line case.

This version is suitable for when high quality search results are required.

To recap the 4 different possibilities:

POSTCODE VERSION - Latest update - August 2012

Australia's best distance search product just got better with new suburb names list, postcode type and major region table now included!

• 3,310 Unique postcodes
• 11 Million records
• 16,000+ postcode and suburb names
• 165 Mb as .CSV file, 43 Mb as .ZIP

The table containing all the postcode distance records is created by calculating the distance of every postcode to every other postcode. There are 2 versions of the Postcode Distance Table...

1. PCDIST - Postcode Distance Table - Straight Line

Available in both Australia and New Zealand editions.

Uses straight line distances from postcode centre to postcode centre. The straight line version is ideal for tight budget applications where basic sorting is the main criteria.

2. PCDISTMR - Postcode Distance Table - Metro By Road

Uses distances by major road from postcode centre to postcode centre where both postcodes are within major metro area and uses straight line distance elsewhere.

The by-road distance version is ideal for more demanding situations where accurately selecting only those locations within true travel distance of the search location is required.

The by-road version takes into account all and multiple harbour and bay crossings and other transport restrictions that exist between any 2 locations.

The product comprises a set of records ideal for direct use in a database system - no complicated 3rd party software licences or costs - you use your own familiar and compatible tools.

Data Table Format & Samples

A sample of the table record contents are as below. The postcode pair is unique with the distance between them in the 3rd column. All distances are in whole kilometres between the centre of each postcode.

The format of the records is identical for either version, it is just the distance column that differs in actual value.

2000,2006,3
2000,2007,2
2000,2008,3
2000,2009,1
2000,2010,2
2000,2011,1
2000,2015,5
2000,2016,3
2000,2017,4
2000,2018,7
2000,2019,10

All special postcodes, such as GPO Boxes and others, are included so every valid Australian Postcode exists in the table to cover every circumstance.

Sample Tables

A sample of records is available in .CSV format for free download and testing.

• Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane sample - straight line distance (1Mb )
• Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane sample - by road distance (1 Mb)

SUBURB VERSION - Latest update - 14th September 2012

. SUBDIST - Suburb Distance Table - Straight Line (NZ November 2011)

Uses straight line distances from suburb centre to suburb centre. The straight line version is ideal for tight budget applications where basic sorting is the main criteria.

2. SUBDISTMR - Suburb Distance Table - Metro By Road

Uses distances by major road from suburb centre to suburb centre where both suburb are within major metro area and uses straight line distance elsewhere.

The by-road distance version is ideal for more demanding situations where accurately selecting only those locations within true travel distance of the search location is required.

The by-road version takes into account all and multiple harbour and bay crossings and other transport restrictions that exist between any 2 locations.

Sample Tables

A sample of records is available in .CSV format for free download and testing.

• Sydney sample - straight line distance
• Sydney sample - by road distance

	Licences are available for single user, network multi user,commercial and web useage. Contact us for details.

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