How does javascript search for states using zipcodes for a website

Question

1.00/5 (1 vote)

See more:

Here is the Question in two parts:

I am having problems creating a zip-code look-up in javascript. The first part is

1) having javascript recongnize that a zip-code is linked to a state, and possibly maintain that data. The second part is to

2) Have the javascript output the state in the second field text "State Result" which is displayed to the user.

The script and site can be found here:

Edit fiddle - JSFiddle[^](This contains the entire code, and is not a download. Pasted on JSFiddle as the full code is too long for CodeProject. Similar to pastebin).

References to Nodes, External Websites (posting an external site for examples is okay, linking in code is not), PhP, SQL Databases, external Program downloads,extensions, are unfortunately not allowed. This script consist of using the HTML/Javascript languages only.

-----Here is part of the javascript----:

JavaScript

function validateZIP(zipfield, statefield) {
var valid = "0123456789-";
var hyphencount = 0;

What I have tried:

JavaScript

function GetZip(90001, 90002){
  return California, California
}

document.getElementById("")=GetZip (9001, 9002)

As seen above, I am attempting to use an object to call California by 9001 with the value return being California to the user on a single page.

I have tried the concept of functions, however dictionaries is a new concept.

There are many zipcodes I need a shorter and cleaner/easier way of calling zip-codes to be searched on the site with the output as corresponding states.

Posted 28-Oct-17 9:30am

Member 13491039

Updated 30-Oct-17 6:24am

Chris Maunder772.7K

v8

Add a Solution

Comments

Richard MacCutchan 29-Oct-17 4:41am

Your question was most likely closed because you had a link to an external site in it. And you still have that, so this question is also at risk. Please edit the question, remove the link, and provide the actual text of the code that does not work. Do not expect people to download your code from external sites and try to figure out what is wrong with it.

Richard MacCutchan 29-Oct-17 13:13pm

The first thing you need is a dictionary that contains all the states and the associated zip codes. I assume that US zip codes for each state are in some sort of sequence, so you just need the lowest and highest values. Then all you need to do is search the dictionary for a range that the code lies within, and that will identify your state. But I am sure it is much easier to use some ready made API service to do it.

Member 13491039 29-Oct-17 13:19pm

Yes, I do have the zipcodes and the corresponding states converted into dictionary. I'm not exactly sure how dictionaries work, but I have used this open-source dictionary convertor website that converts should anyone else wish to use it.

https://shancarter.github.io/mr-data-converter/

Richard MacCutchan 29-Oct-17 13:20pm

What does that have to do with your question?

Member 13491039 29-Oct-17 17:54pm

The convertor changes regular text into JS Dictionary form, including ,'s.

Member 13491039 29-Oct-17 13:19pm

That's pretty strange. Mostly in code you want to reference the script in a snippet than pasting the entire in a page. There is no downloading involved and contains popular snippets such as CodePin or JS Fiddle that many popular and up-to-date coding sites use. Also, I've seen other questions on CodeProject that use an external link that aren't taken down. I will post the javascript part but, without the rest the code is not going to work properly.

Richard MacCutchan 29-Oct-17 13:23pm

Well on this site we expect to see the code snippet(s) (not the entire program), nicely formatted within <pre> tags, in the "What I have tried" section of the question. You will find that providing useful detailed information will get you answers much more quickly.

A_Griffin 29-Oct-17 6:35am

There are many API's you can use to do this - Google Map's GeoCoding API is one, or do a search for ZipTastic API. I believe the US Postal Service also offers an API for this.

3 solutions

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

Preview 0

…

Existing Members

Sign in to your account

...or Join us

Download, Vote, Comment, Publish.

Your Email
Password
Forgot your password?

Your Email
This email is in use. Do you need your password?
Optional Password

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Please subscribe me to the CodeProject newsletters

When answering a question please:

Read the question carefully.
Understand that English isn't everyone's first language so be lenient of bad spelling and grammar.
If a question is poorly phrased then either ask for clarification, ignore it, or edit the question and fix the problem. Insults are not welcome.
Don't tell someone to read the manual. Chances are they have and don't get it. Provide an answer or move on to the next question.

Let's work to help developers, not make them feel stupid.

This content, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

Richard MacCutchan · Answer 1 · 2017-10-29T07:18:00

Solution 1

See U.S. Zip Codes[^].

Posted 29-Oct-17 7:18am

Richard MacCutchan

Comments

Member 13491039 29-Oct-17 13:29pm

Thanks for your response! But link to the API is currently offline.

Richard MacCutchan 29-Oct-17 13:35pm

Not from here.

W∴ Balboos, *GHB* · Answer 2 · 2017-10-30T06:24:00

If you follow this link Free ZIP code map, zip code lookup, and zip code list[^], you will note, about mid-page, the topic "Matching ZIP Codes with States, Counties, and Cities". Within this text it give some information that should let you realize that, in principal, your task is impossible!

Here's the quote:

Quote:
the ZIP code "boundary" will cross the state lines. ZIP codes don't usually cross state lines, but some do (65733, 71749, and 73949 are good examples).

There's info there that can make a pretty efficient engine for you - but since it won't always be true you can never fix the problem (unless you go to zip+4)

Member 13491039 · Answer 3 · 2017-11-27T16:37:00

else if (Statenames>=70001 && Statenames<=71497){
           return "LA"
               }

By adding a range using else if statements and using the method before this line by declaring a function, I was able to successfully create a zipcode lookup. Though not 100% accurate as zip-codes can jump from one range to another, it got 95% of it and including the smaller, lost zips within the range of the bigger ones. This was also done without an API/External code.

How does javascript search for states using zipcodes for a website

3 solutions

Solution 1

Solution 2

Solution 3

Add your solution here

Preview 0