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GPS Zip Code Radius Web Service By Will Fitch 23 October 2006 at 9:16 pm

Update! Due to the demand for an easier interface, I have developed a SOAP service offering more functionality and requires less coding on your end. You may see the overview here: http://www.phpfever.com/soap-zip-code-web-service.html.

Ok….

So I’ve created this script based off of the GPS info. It allows you to specify a zip code and radius (in mileage), and it will return the following values in XML:

1. stateName
2. city
3. zipCode
4. latitude
5. longitude
6. distance (from the specified zip code)
7. timeZone

It is available via GET at the following URL:

http://www.phpfever.com/web-services/zip_radius.php

There are some GET variables you will have to specify, so read on with a tutorial using CURL.

If you have a script that’s actually going to use this (i.e. dealer locator, dating site), you will probably want to use CURL to get the data necessary.

After making the request, based off of your needs, you will have to parse the XML using your choice of functions/classes provided by PHP or PEAR. Here is a sample script using the CURL extension:

PHP

PHP

1. <?php
2.  
3. // URL
4. $zip_code = 42223; // FORT CAMPBELL ZIP CODE
5. $radius = 50; // 50 MILES
6.  
7. $request_uri =
8. ‘http://www.phpfever.com/web-services/
9. zip_radius.php?zip_code=’.$zip_code.‘&radius=’.$radius;
10.  
11. // Initialize the session
12. $curl = curl_init($request_uri);
13.  
14. // Set curl options
15. curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_HEADER, true);
16. curl_setopt($curl, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, true);
17.  
18. // Make the request
19. $response = curl_exec($curl);
20.  
21. // Close the curl session
22. curl_close($curl);
23.  
24. // Get HTTP Status code from the response
25. $status_code = array();
26. preg_match(‘/ddd/’, $response, $status_code);
27.  
28. // Check the HTTP Status code
29. switch( $status_code[0] ) {
30. case 200:
31. // Success
32. //print_r($response);
33. break;
34. case 503:
35. die(‘Server Error.’);
36. break;
37. case 403:
38. die(‘Forbidden.’);
39. break;
40. case 400:
41. die(‘Bad Request.’);
42. break;
43. default:
44. // Unknown error code. Just print it out
45. die($status_code[0]);
46. }
47.  
48. // Get the XML from the response, bypassing the header
49. if (!($xml = strstr($response, ‘l’))) {
50.  
51. $xml = null;
52. }
53.  
54. // Output the XML
55. echo $xml;
56. ?>

That’s all it takes. I will be working on other scripts for exporting in a different manner. In the meantime, XML is always a good option (better than nothing).

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• Under : PHP, Scripts and Files
• Tags: PHP, web service, zip code
  

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7 responses : “ GPS Zip Code Radius Web Service ”

1. 1

   William : 08 December 2006 at 5:03 pm

   Do you know where i could get my GPS service by cell phones?
   my friends download GPS software to cell phones, and their phone become the navigation system. so cool! but, how i can get
   one too?!

2. 2

   will.fitch : 11 December 2006 at 5:32 pm

   http://www.google.com/gmm is one option. This tutorial is actually meant for those who want to host GPS capabilities on their website.

3. 3

   Zip Code Proximity Search | SomeoneFun.com : 12 December 2006 at 10:23 am

   [...] I found an excellent API at phpfever.com and am working to implement a ZIP code proximity search on this site with it. [...]

4. 4

   Teerawut : 03 July 2007 at 2:49 am

   Good

5. 5

   Kaori D'Alessio : 19 July 2007 at 1:18 am

   how do i use the zipcodes by radius service from asp.net? i get a strange error all the time saying that type text/html was returned when type text/xml was expected. is this a security issue.

6. 6

   will.fitch : 26 July 2007 at 6:21 pm

   Hi Kaori,

   I will be implementing a SOAP service tonight for you to use. For all others, I will be removing the REST service for the newer, better SOAP method.

7. 7

   MOBY : 10 August 2007 at 4:24 am

   Bookmarks…

   I can’t add your post to Digg. How I do this?…

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