[SOLVED] simple zip code lookup to city & state

[pquery]

I just need a little help on where to look for a simple function I'd like to build into my application

 

I'd like to put a simple mySQL db backend that holds zip codes and their corresponding cities, there has to be one of these availalbe for download somewhere right? I don't want lats or or longs just zip and corresponding cities. I'm sticking with the KISS rule (this is a free web tool and nothing is too complex on it)

 

second where can I go to look for some help on the lookup function for this? Like I said I just want simple, you put your 5 digit zip code into the txt field and then I can have my js validator make sure that it's all numerical, and in a certain range of us zip codes, and then have the php do the look-up and return the $city,$state for the echo statement.

 

nothing complex, I'm sure one if not many have done things like this already. But everytime I search for something it's doing area ranges based on lat/long tables or shipping tables. I'm just looking for SIMPLE.

 

thanks

[cooldude832]

google it, you might have to pay for the array, but its fairly striaghtforward and a good use for ajax,

I know of ajax tutorial out there that uses this array, but I can't locate it.

[drummer101]

Most of the ones I've found out have to pay for.

http://www.odditysoftware.com/page-datasales40.htm

 

But give http://www.maxmind.com/download/worldcities/cities.txt.gz a look, it's free (clocks in @ 33mb though) I'm DLing it now to look it over but maybe it's what you're looking for?

[cooldude832]

these are the sorta resources people need to consolidate into one place for free

[pquery]

I've actually found the db in Microsoft access format and I'm converting now. In case anyone else is looking I found it on about.com in the database section, and the data is from 2006.  I'm still looking for the php function so that I don't have to sit here and write it from scratch (just to save some time) so if someone knows something please let me know.

 

thanks.

 

 

[revraz]

Just do a simple LIKE or greater than/less than search on the zip.

[drummer101]

http://zips.sourceforge.net/ try that one, theres a sql format and CSV

[pquery]

I just converted the MS access free db to csv and then uploaded to my local copy of mySql. Then I exported and uploaded to my server. (both the city and state abbr. were in all uppers)

 

 

I then wrote a simple function to do what I need including capitalizing only the first name of the city but keeping the 2 letter state code in caps....

 

I'll share for others looking for something simple

 

       global $dbh;
global $zipCode;

    $query =mysql_query("SELECT `city` , `state` FROM `zipCodes`WHERE `zip` =$zipCode");

    $query_row=mysql_fetch_array($query);
    $city = ucfirst(strtolower($query_row[0]));

    echo($city);
    echo(",");
    echo($query_row[1]);
    mysql_close();

 

just remember that it's taking a form text field named zipCode if you're going to reuse this, and my zipcode  table was named zipCodes.

 

As a final note, if anyone knows of a free db full of the canadian zips I'd take a link to that to merge with my US zip codes - remember I'm only looking for zip code, city and state / providence abbr.