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How Is Address Matching Performed?
applications, such as pinpointing specific addresses on a road. It’s this source
data that allows for a match of a typed street address to a map of the actual
location.
How Is Address Matching Performed?
Whenever you use a program like MapQuest or Google Maps to find a map
of a location, you’re typing in something (like “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,
Washington, D.C.”) and somehow the Website translates this string of characters into a map of a spatial location (like the White House). The process of
taking a bunch of numbers and letters and finding the corresponding location that matches up with them is called address matching or geocoding
(Figure 8.4). Although the process seems instantaneous, there are several
steps involved in geocoding that are happening “behind the scenes” when
you use an address-matching system (like those in GIS).
First, you need to have some sort of reference database in place—this
is a road network that the addresses will be matched to. A TIGER/Line file,
another type of street centerline file, or some other road-network data (like
those created by commercial companies) is needed here. What’s essential is
that the line segments contain attributes such as those found in a TIGER/Line
file—for example, street direction, name of the street, address ranges on the
left and right sides of the street, street suffix, and zip codes on the left and
right sides of the street. This information will be used as the source to match
addresses to as well as a source for the final plotted map.
FIGURE 8.4 A map
generated by querying
MapQuest for “1600
Pennsylvania Avenue,
Washington, D.C.” (Source:
Map(s) and data © 2011
by MapQuest, Inc., Navteq,
and Intermap as applicable.
MapQuest and the MapQuest
logo are trademarks of
MapQuest, Inc. Used with
permission.)
address matching
another term for
geocoding.
geocoding the process
of using the text of an
address to plot a point at
that location on a map.
reference database
the base network data
used as a source for
geocoding.
How Is Address Matching Performed?
applications, such as pinpointing specific addresses on a road. It’s this source
data that allows for a match of a typed street address to a map of the actual
location.
How Is Address Matching Performed?
Whenever you use a program like MapQuest or Google Maps to find a map
of a location, you’re typing in something (like “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,
Washington, D.C.”) and somehow the Website translates this string of characters into a map of a spatial location (like the White House). The process of
taking a bunch of numbers and letters and finding the corresponding location that matches up with them is called address matching or geocoding
(Figure 8.4). Although the process seems instantaneous, there are several
steps involved in geocoding that are happening “behind the scenes” when
you use an address-matching system (like those in GIS).
First, you need to have some sort of reference database in place—this
is a road network that the addresses will be matched to. A TIGER/Line file,
another type of street centerline file, or some other road-network data (like
those created by commercial companies) is needed here. What’s essential is
that the line segments contain attributes such as those found in a TIGER/Line
file—for example, street direction, name of the street, address ranges on the
left and right sides of the street, street suffix, and zip codes on the left and
right sides of the street. This information will be used as the source to match
addresses to as well as a source for the final plotted map.
FIGURE 8.4 A map
generated by querying
MapQuest for “1600
Pennsylvania Avenue,
Washington, D.C.” (Source:
Map(s) and data © 2011
by MapQuest, Inc., Navteq,
and Intermap as applicable.
MapQuest and the MapQuest
logo are trademarks of
MapQuest, Inc. Used with
permission.)
address matching
another term for
geocoding.
geocoding the process
of using the text of an
address to plot a point at
that location on a map.
reference database
the base network data
used as a source for
geocoding.