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Comment by kierank | Hacker News Reader

This isn't the full database as far as I understand which maps postcodes to actual addresses. This leak only deals with coordinates.

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I think this is actually better. This is the secret source which is referred to in order to create, but doesn't include, the PAF file which maps postcodes to addresses. The PAF file is however easily available, though under a licence, and therefore is regularly leaked.

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump2?mediaId=400085&...

The available columns are

Postcode, IntroductionDate, GridRefEast, GridRefNorth, County, District, Ward, UserType, GridStatus, Country, WardStatus, NHS_Code, NHS_Region, Long, Lat, OSRef, Update

You can already get the co-ordinates from a postcode using google maps. So I can't think of anything massively exciting you could do with this information. Maybe some sort of offline navigation app.

how about "what postcode am I in"? when out and about.

also "click on the map, what's the postcode?"

quite handy for getting the area code i.e N1

If those are the columns this isn't 'precise' postal code data. The log/lat is just the 'centroid' of the postal code. At least in the US, most -- if not all -- postal codes are irregularly shaped, so it's not like you can pull up precise GPS data on the perimeter of the postal code (i.e. in order to draw it on a map).

UK postcodes are equivalent to the 5+4 US zip codes. They list part of a street, typically 10-20 houses.

still close enough to search for things.

% postcode

NG15

% ff http://www.google.com/webhp?q=ng15+curry

bah google changed their uri scheme

such a shame...

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