NAME

Regexp::Common::zip -- provide regexes for postal codes.

SYNOPSIS

use Regexp::Common qw /zip/;

while (<>) {
    /^$RE{zip}{Netherlands}$/   and  print "Dutch postal code\n";
}

DESCRIPTION

Please consult the manual of Regexp::Common for a general description of the works of this interface.

Do not use this module directly, but load it via Regexp::Common.

This module offers patterns for zip or postal codes of many different countries. They all have the form $RE{zip}{Country}[{options}].

The following common options are used:

`{-prefix=[yes|no|allow]}` and `{-country=PAT}`.

Postal codes can be prefixed with a country abbreviation. That is, a dutch postal code of 1234 AB can also be written as NL-1234 AB. By default, all the patterns will allow the prefixes. But this can be changed with the -prefix option. With -prefix=yes, the returned pattern requires a country prefix, while -prefix=no disallows a prefix. Any argument that doesn't start with a y or a n allows a country prefix, but doesn't require them.

The prefixes used are, unfortunally, not always the same. Officially, ISO country codes need to be used, but the usage of CEPT codes (the same ones as used on cars) is common too. By default, each postal code will recognize a country prefix that's either the ISO standard or the CEPT code. That is, German postal codes may prefixed with either DE or D. The recognized prefix can be changed with the -country option, which takes a (sub)pattern as argument. The arguments iso and cept are special, and indicate the language prefix should be the ISO country code, or the CEPT code.

Examples: /$RE{zip}{Netherlands}/; # Matches '1234 AB' and 'NL-1234 AB'. /$RE{zip}{Netherlands}{-prefix => 'no'}/; # Matches '1234 AB' but not 'NL-1234 AB'. /$RE{zip}{Netherlands}{-prefix => 'yes'}/; # Matches 'NL-1234 AB' but not '1234 AB'.

/$RE{zip}{Germany}/;
          # Matches 'DE-12345' and 'D-12345'.
/$RE{zip}{Germany}{-country => 'iso'}/; 
          # Matches 'DE-12345' but not 'D-12345'.
/$RE{zip}{Germany}{-country => 'cept'}/;
          # Matches 'D-12345' but not 'DE-12345'.
/$RE{zip}{Germany}{-country => 'GER'}/;
          # Matches 'GER-12345'.

`{-sep=PAT}`

Some countries have postal codes that consist of two parts. Typically there is an official way of separating those parts; but in practise people tend to use different separators. For instance, if the official way to separate parts is to use a space, it happens that the space is left off. The -sep option can be given a pattern as argument which indicates what to use as a separator between the parts.

Examples: /$RE{zip}{Netherlands}/; # Matches '1234 AB' but not '1234AB'. /$RE{zip}{Netherlands}{-sep => '\s*'}/; # Matches '1234 AB' and '1234AB'.

`$RE{zip}{Australia}`

Returns a pattern that recognizes Australian postal codes. Australian postal codes consist of four digits; the first two digits, which range from '10' to '97', indicate the state. Territories use '02' or '08' as starting digits; the leading zero is optional. '0909' is the only postal code starting with '09' (the leading zero is optional here as well) - this is the postal code for the Nothern Territory University). The (optional) country prefixes are AU (ISO country code) and AUS (CEPT code). Regexp::Common 2.107 and before used $RE{zip}{Australia}. This is still supported.