What is a geocoder?

geocoding refers to the conversion of physical address, such as street address, geographical coordinates, commonly length and latitude, to display locations on the map. Reverse geocoding performs the opposite calculation and finds the street address when it gives a set of geographical coordinates. Geocoder or geocoding system is a piece of software or web service that performs geocoding. The geocoder can be used for various purposes such as obtaining instructions, cartography and geotagging. Geotagging includes the addition of geotag, which is geographical data such as latitude and length, to different types of media such as photos, videos, RSS channels and websites.

The three most common geocoding methods are: by address; postal code, postal code or local equivalent; and the border. In a geocode to Geocoder, a reference file with data such as streets and street names that have already been mapped are commonly used. It then corresponds to the data in the referencing against the list of addresses, it is geocoding. To estimate the position of a particular adResy is often used a process called interpolation of the address, which means that the system estimates where the specific address is placed on the basis of general information in the reference file. For example, a geocoder can find out at which end of the block or street the address is placed on the basis of the range of buildings or on which side of the street is based on whether the building number is odd or even.

Using postal codes can be problematic, especially in rural areas where each postal code covers a very large area. In urban areas, this method is more accurate because each postcode covers a much smaller geographical area. Geocoding the border is the least reliable method because it only displays a general area where a specific address is located.

There are problems with all geocode methods. Even the most reliable method that uses physical addresses has its problems. For exampleThe geocoder databases can still be added new addresses or the streets may have the same name, but are located in different geographical areas. There is a wide range of geocoding systems and some are free of charge for use while others require a license fee. Some examples of Geocoders are relatively known Internet services such as Google Maps, Yahoo Placefinder and USC Geocoder, and systems such as Geohash, C-Squares and ISO 6709. There are also text alternatives that do not require the user to be online.