Getting started

About GeoStan

This manual details the use and functionality of GeoStan. These functions may be in the form of a library, DLL, or copybook depending on the platform you are developing on. The functions allow the developer to incorporate national address standardization, as well as address and ZIP centroid geocoding into virtually any application.

The process of standardizing and geocoding an address is very straightforward using these functions and gives the developer a large amount of freedom in implementing the user interface.

A standardized address contains the street address, city, state, and complete ZIP+4, corrected to USPS standards. A geocoded address contains the address as found in the geocode database, as well as items such as the Latitude, Longitude, and Census Block. A detailed match code is also returned for each process.

GeoStan uses data from two primary sources to perform its functions: a street network database, acquired from one of several premium vendors or the U.S. Census Bureau, and the U.S. Postal Service ZIP+4 Directory files. To fully understand the capabilities of GeoStan and the data elements that GeoStan returns, it is important to understand these underlying file types. Precisely suggests you familiarize yourself with the content of these source files.

For information about TIGER files, contact the U.S. Census Bureau and request the TIGER Technical Documentation. Information regarding street network data from premium vendors is available at the vendor’s Website. For information about the ZIP+4 Directory file, contact the USPS National Customer Support Center at 1-800-238-3150 and request the Address Information System Products Technical Guide.