BETA VERSION: Map Locator Hack

[Pseudomizer]

Welcome to my first BETA Release of

Map Locator Hack or How-to-Find members in a nutshell

This is my first try to get help from you guys. I tried to develop this on my own but i failed. I need help from all of you.

Before i start to describe what this hack does please take a look at the live demo. It makes my life much easier. Live demo can be viewed here (http://www.lovetalks.de/forum/locator.php).

Please move your mouse over the marks. You will see userinformations.

So this hack provides a map for VBulletin to show where your members are living. But i do not have the data for the US. I just have the data for germany and due to this i can only provide the german map. I have added the US map and a map of india but without the data i will not be able to finish this hack for other countries.

Please read my installation instructions completly BEFORE you start installing this hack. This hack is not easy to install and it will take you at least 30 min to get it running with the german map.

I would like to add: This is not an official release. This is a BETA version which is currently in production. I would not post this in this BETA section when i would not need your help. So what i need from you ? Please read my install instructions and read the part about the US data. If someone can provide this kind of data, i will be able to publish this hack.

If no one can provide this data, i will not continue with this hack because it works for me and due to the help of an indian VB member i will finalize this hack for him for india. So it is up to you.

UPDATE BETA 1.01:
After having done the base work, i focused now on the performance. If you have many members in your domain and many people open this map, your server will struggle. The heavy SQL part of this hack will bring down your server. Due to this i implemented a performance improvement.

I created the following logic around the hack:
- check if the number of ZIP code entries of the members has changed.
- if yes, then redraw the map with all queries ( a lot of queries which are required )
- if no, then take the already drawn map and take the userinfo which has been saved into a file rather then redo all queries again

Improvement:
- Up to 800% because people do not change their ZIP code so often
- if new ZIP codes are added only 1 person will issue the heavy SQL load to your server and this just ONCE
- every other person will get the cached version of the map with a really nice performance ( 5 queries in total )

And on top of that i added the Locator template to the cached templates. So this hack should be performing very well now. You can check it on my live demo site.

I have updated the ZIP file with the new locator.php file. For upgraders, just replace the locator.php file in your forum root folder. Then please do a "chmod 777 data" in your forum root folder. All set all done.

Cheers,

[insanctus]

Wow that is very cool idea... props to you (not useful for usa folks yet but still promising)

[weaver]

I can't help with the USA info but I really hope someone can. I'd love to add this to my site.

[Pseudomizer]

I can't help with the USA info but I really hope someone can. I'd love to add this to my site.

I know from the indian guys, that they are going to buy a CD with the data on it. Then export the data into a SQL format and provide it to me. The data is freely available. Only the maps and the software on the CD is not freeware.

So if something similar is available for US then please go for it. As soon as someone can provide me the data, i will release the US version of this hack.

Cheers,

[Reeve of shinra]

Great hack but I saw it was using 71 queries... I dont know if that can be reduced but if not, you may want to limit how often the page can be refreshed (like the search feature) in case someone gets pissed at you and decides to reload that page until your site crashes.

[Pseudomizer]

Great hack but I saw it was using 71 queries... I dont know if that can be reduced but if not, you may want to limit how often the page can be refreshed (like the search feature) in case someone gets pissed at you and decides to reload that page until your site crashes.

Hi Reeve,

you are right. 71 queries are a lot and this is the reason why this is a BETA release. There is no performance tuning done, there is no optimization done yet. This is on the to-do list.

But regardless of this we can discuss this here because i see a problem how to reduce the number of queries. I need the ZIP code for each member. Then i need to draw the point into the map where this member lives and then i have to gather the information about this member like habition and link to his profile.

So in total there are 2 x times the number of members queries for this page. I reduced it already from 4 x times the number of members by using arrays but keep in mind that i have to draw a point into the map for each member.

But i am very open for suggestions to reduce the number of queries because i always try to keep my queries very low. Any ideas ?

Cheers,

[Reeve of shinra]

completely understand that its a beta, I didn't mean to sound condesending in any way. I can only imagine the amout of work it took to integrate this and the results are great!

I'm not the greatest coder but perhaps this could be a static html page thats updated with new users via cron at a set interval?

[joeychgo]

What US info do you need?

[Pseudomizer]

What US info do you need?

Download the hack and open the install.html file. In the file you will find an example of what i need in detail.

Cheers,

[Pseudomizer]

completely understand that its a beta, I didn't mean to sound condesending in any way. I can only imagine the amout of work it took to integrate this and the results are great!

I'm not the greatest coder but perhaps this could be a static html page thats updated with new users via cron at a set interval?

This is a good point. What i could do:

- Implement at the beginning a query which counts the number of ZIP codes entered by the members.

- If the number is the same, then don't redraw the map

- If the number is not the same then draw the map and instead of echo the userinfo and data like mouseover, write this info into a file.

- open the map and load the data from the file

So this would reduce the number of queries to 1 or x. And only if a new ZIP code has been entered, the load of queries will run.

How does this sound ? Good or bad idea ? Any other possibilities ?

Cheers,

[SaN-DeeP]

just clicked install
working on it

;)
thnx a lot for map of india m8

[sabret00the]

this is awesome, been looking for something like this, although my users are all over the world :(

[Natch]

I also have been wondering about the feasibility of this - great work and I'd love to see this worked on by all of us (I'm an Aussie so we should be easy enuff to do ;))

[Pseudomizer]

this is awesome, been looking for something like this, although my users are all over the world :(

If you have worldwide access then i would suggest you use "globetrotter". This is a world wide map, where users can drag and drop their location and can add personal information about themselves.

Just a suggestion. :nervous:

Cheers,

[Intex]

Certainly looks very interesting. Would be good when it's complete and has a UK map :D.

[Pseudomizer]

Certainly looks very interesting. Would be good when it's complete and has a UK map :D.

Then please provide me the map details i need for this hack for UK.

Cheers,

[Pseudomizer]

Hi @LL,

please read my update on the first post of this hack. I just did a massive performance improvement for this hack.

Cheers,

[Vb-Hispano]

for world entire?

thanks

[Pseudomizer]

for world entire?

thanks

If you can provide the data i need for the hack, then yes. Please download the hack and read my description of the needed data. If you can provide the data for spain, then it is not a problem.

Cheers,

[gmarik]

Great one - flash involved? If you need IP codes, I've got a large MySQL table of them...

[Pseudomizer]

Great one - flash involved? If you need IP codes, I've got a large MySQL table of them...

No Flash at all. It is pure Javascript for the mouse over.

What do you mean with IP codes ? And for which country ?

Cheers,

[Phalynx]

Great Hack, thanks!

[DaveLogic]

Then please provide me the map details i need for this hack for UK.

Cheers,

The nearest I can find for the UK is this...Very similar format except the name of town is replaced with UK Post code...
Example:

areacode,x,y,latitude,longitude
AB10,392900,804900,57.135,-2.117
AB11,394500,805300,57.138,-2.092
AB12,393300,801100,57.101,-2.111
AB13,385600,801900,57.108,-2.237
AB14,383600,801100,57.101,-2.27
AB15,390000,805300,57.138,-2.164
AB16,390600,807800,57.161,-2.156
- etc -


The link is here http://www.jibble.org/ukpostcodes/

I've also attached the full list as a zip..Hope this helps...

[Pseudomizer]

The nearest I can find for the UK is this...Very similar format except the name of town is replaced with UK Post code...
Example:

areacode,x,y,latitude,longitude
AB10,392900,804900,57.135,-2.117
AB11,394500,805300,57.138,-2.092
AB12,393300,801100,57.101,-2.111
AB13,385600,801900,57.108,-2.237
AB14,383600,801100,57.101,-2.27
AB15,390000,805300,57.138,-2.164
AB16,390600,807800,57.161,-2.156
- etc -


The link is here http://www.jibble.org/ukpostcodes/

I've also attached the full list as a zip..Hope this helps...

Hi DaveLogic,

sorry for not knowing the UK very well, but are Post codes = ZIP codes ? But i am missing the city names like London, Altrinham, etc.

Cheers,

[DaveLogic]

Hi DaveLogic,

sorry for not knowing the UK very well, but are Post codes = ZIP codes ? But i am missing the city names like London, Altrinham, etc.

Cheers,

Yeah, the UK's Post codes are equivelant to ZIP codes..........I've searched high and low for the city names as well but with no luck except for the Airport codes..Entering just the postcode however would still work as well IMO...

[Pseudomizer]

Yeah, the UK's Post codes are equivelant to ZIP codes..........I've searched high and low for the city names as well but with no luck except for the Airport codes..Entering just the postcode however would still work as well IMO...

Hi DaveLogic,

the current Hack provides userinformation with mouseover effect where the city name is highlighted. You information is great. It is 75% of the data i need.

I have already downloaded the GEO data for the UK and i will be able to draw a map of the UK in the near term.

But i need the city names. Without the city names i will not be able to use the current hack and i do not want to start a new version only for the UK or for any other country. I want to keep it simple which will make my life easier supporting this hack. I hope you understand this.

Regardless of this you are the second guy with really usefull information about a country.

Could you please check if you can get a list of city names and post codes ? I can write a script to combine the 2 sources to one big sql file. This would solve all our problems.

Cheers,

[DaveLogic]

Hi DaveLogic,

the current Hack provides userinformation with mouseover effect where the city name is highlighted. You information is great. It is 75% of the data i need.

I have already downloaded the GEO data for the UK and i will be able to draw a map of the UK in the near term.

But i need the city names. Without the city names i will not be able to use the current hack and i do not want to start a new version only for the UK or for any other country. I want to keep it simple which will make my life easier supporting this hack. I hope you understand this.

Regardless of this you are the second guy with really usefull information about a country.

Could you please check if you can get a list of city names and post codes ? I can write a script to combine the 2 sources to one big sql file. This would solve all our problems.

Cheers,

Here's the full list of UK postcodes with city names
http://www.brainstorm.co.uk/post-codes2.txt

Because both files are in CSV format it should be possible to merge the data with the location data???

[Pseudomizer]

Here's the full list of UK postcodes with city names
http://www.brainstorm.co.uk/post-codes2.txt

Because both files are in CSV format it should be possible to merge the data with the location data???

Hey DaveLogic ? You are really quick. That's all i need. I will now try to merge these files to get one DB for the UK. Now please lay back and relax and be patient. The rest is now my work.

Cheers,

[Intex]

I'd be very interested when you get this operational for the UK :cool:.

[DaveLogic]

Hey DaveLogic ? You are really quick. That's all i need. I will now try to merge these files to get one DB for the UK. Now please lay back and relax and be patient. The rest is now my work.

Cheers,

All the thanks is to you............

[Pseudomizer]

I'd be very interested when you get this operational for the UK :cool:.

The last script i created for the US ( with the wrong data i had ) took about 4 hours on a 2Ghz machine doing nothing else then sorting out and recombining the data into a sql format. Let's see how long it will take for the UK data assuming i can remod my old script quick enough.

Give me some time. I will get this running for you. Please be patient.

Cheers,

[Pseudomizer]

Ok guys,

i need some guidance here.

I can sort out the data to be in one file to be exported into a sql file ... BUT now i have a problem.

In germany we have one big city name like Berlin which has multiple suburbs and multiple ZIP codes. This hack does the following:


INSERT INTO geodb_locations VALUES (14356,6,'Berlin','Berlin','11000000','DE','BE',NU LL,'Kreisfreie Stadt Berlin',NULL,'Berlin',NULL,NULL,52.5167,13.4,'B',' 10115,10117,10119,10178,10179,10243,10245,10247,10 249,10315,10317,10318,10319,10365,10367,10369,1040 5,10407,10409,10435,10437,10439,10551,10553,10555, 10557,10559,10585,10587,10589,10623,10625,10627,10 629,10707,10709,10711,10713,10715,10717,10719,1077 7,10779,10781,10783,10785,10787,10789,10823,10825, 10827,10829,10961,10963,10965,10967,10969,10997,10 999,12043,12045,12047,12049,12051,12053,12055,1205 7,12059,12099,12101,12103,12105,12107,12109,12157, 12159,12161,12163,12165,12167,12169,12203,12205,12 207,12209,12247,12249,12277,12279,12305,12307,1230 9,12347,12349,12351,12353,12355,12357,12359,12435, 12437,12439,12459,12487,12489,12524,12526,12527,12 529,12555,12557,12559,12587,12589,12619,12621,1262 3,12627,12629,12679,12681,12683,12685,12687,12689, 13051,13053,13055,13057,13059,13086,13088,13089,13 125,13127,13129,13156,13158,13159,13187,13189,1334 7,13349,13351,13353,13355,13357,13359,13403,13405, 13407,13409,13435,13437,13439,13465,13467,13469,13 503,13505,13507,13509,13581,13583,13585,13587,1358 9,13591,13593,13595,13597,13599,13627,13629,14050, 14052,14053,14055,14057,14059,14089,14109,14129,14 163,14165,14167,14169,14193,14195,14197,14199');


Before starting to confuse you ... i need the following information:

If i take e.g. post code AB23 then i have 15 city names. So i have one geographical location, one ZIP code and 15 city names. The german map has in comparison to that 1 geo location, 20 zip codes but one city name.

What should i take then as a city name ? Please advise.

Cheers,

[DaveLogic]

Ok guys,

i need some guidance here.

I can sort out the data to be in one file to be exported into a sql file ... BUT now i have a problem.

In germany we have one big city name like Berlin which has multiple suburbs and multiple ZIP codes. This hack does the following:


INSERT INTO geodb_locations VALUES (14356,6,'Berlin','Berlin','11000000','DE','BE',NU LL,'Kreisfreie Stadt Berlin',NULL,'Berlin',NULL,NULL,52.5167,13.4,'B',' 10115,10117,10119,10178,10179,10243,10245,10247,10 249,10315,10317,10318,10319,10365,10367,10369,1040 5,10407,10409,10435,10437,10439,10551,10553,10555, 10557,10559,10585,10587,10589,10623,10625,10627,10 629,10707,10709,10711,10713,10715,10717,10719,1077 7,10779,10781,10783,10785,10787,10789,10823,10825, 10827,10829,10961,10963,10965,10967,10969,10997,10 999,12043,12045,12047,12049,12051,12053,12055,1205 7,12059,12099,12101,12103,12105,12107,12109,12157, 12159,12161,12163,12165,12167,12169,12203,12205,12 207,12209,12247,12249,12277,12279,12305,12307,1230 9,12347,12349,12351,12353,12355,12357,12359,12435, 12437,12439,12459,12487,12489,12524,12526,12527,12 529,12555,12557,12559,12587,12589,12619,12621,1262 3,12627,12629,12679,12681,12683,12685,12687,12689, 13051,13053,13055,13057,13059,13086,13088,13089,13 125,13127,13129,13156,13158,13159,13187,13189,1334 7,13349,13351,13353,13355,13357,13359,13403,13405, 13407,13409,13435,13437,13439,13465,13467,13469,13 503,13505,13507,13509,13581,13583,13585,13587,1358 9,13591,13593,13595,13597,13599,13627,13629,14050, 14052,14053,14055,14057,14059,14089,14109,14129,14 163,14165,14167,14169,14193,14195,14197,14199');


Before starting to confuse you ... i need the following information:

If i take e.g. post code AB23 then i have 15 city names. So i have one geographical location, one ZIP code and 15 city names. The german map has in comparison to that 1 geo location, 20 zip codes but one city name.

What should i take then as a city name ? Please advise.

Cheers,

If you have a UK map it couldn't be that precise / detailed really so for example codes:

"Altens",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Auchlunies",Aberdeenshire,AB1
"Banchory-Devenick",Aberdeenshire,AB1
"Benthoul",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Bieldside",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Blacktop",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Charlestown",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Contlaw",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Cove Bay",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Craigton",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Cults",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Downies",Aberdeenshire,AB1
"Fairley",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Findon",Aberdeenshire,AB1
"Hazelhead",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Heathcot",Aberdeenshire,AB1
"Hillside",Aberdeenshire,AB1
"Kincorth",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Kingsford",Aberdeen City,AB1
"Kingswells",Aberdeen City,AB1

would simply be AB1 = Aberdeenshire. The first part of the list is just a very small area within Aberdeenshire...One post code would equal an entire area therefore you wouldn't need dupicate postcodes...The postcodes begining with A would then filter down to:

Aberdeen City AB1
Aberdeen City AB2
Aberdeen City AB22
Aberdeenshire AB23
Aberdeenshire AB3
Aberdeenshire AB30
Aberdeenshire AB31
Aberdeenshire AB32
Aberdeenshire AB33
Aberdeenshire AB34
Aberdeenshire AB35
Aberdeenshire AB36
Moray AB37
Moray AB38
Aberdeenshire AB41
Aberdeenshire AB42
Aberdeenshire AB45
Aberdeenshire AB51
Aberdeenshire AB53
Moray AB55
Moray AB56
Hertfordshire AL1
Hertfordshire AL10
Hertfordshire AL2
Hertfordshire AL3
Hertfordshire AL4
Hertfordshire AL5
Hertfordshire AL6
Hertfordshire AL7
Hertfordshire AL8
Hertfordshire AL9

Please let me know if I am on the right track....

[Pseudomizer]

Hi UK guys,

i have done my best now and i think i have taken the most out of it.

First of all the data you provided does not match each other... e.g. the one data set start with post code A10 and the other one starts with A1,A2,A3,etc. So i am missing this data completly because i have no GEO data for these post codes.

In addition i am missing an area called channel islands completly. I have just the name and no information at all about this area.

Regardless of these problems i took me some time to make the data unique and to bring them into the right format. I took the area names and the post codes. I disregard the city names completly. And if i had double names for areas i took the first ones as the actual name for the post codes. Please keep in mind that i am not living in UK and as a foreigner it is hard to find the best way.

The easiest way for you would be to crosscheck the source data from me and if you want to correct them, then feel free to proceed BUT please share your changes with us. This will improve this hack for all of us.

Unfortunately i had to redraw the complete map and i found out that your UK map is totally incompatible with the german map. As a result out of this i have to create a new zip file for the UK version of this hack. I have to point this out to every person that the files for each map are not compatible. But this is still a BETA version. This is something for the future.

Now let's show you what i got so far. Please have a look at the following test site and provide some feedback. What kind of feedback ? Are the locations correct ? I just took 3 examples. Let's see what you think of this ... it was a long night for me :-) .

Testlink (http://webforum.no-ip.org/forum/locator_uk.php)

Cheers,

[Pseudomizer]

Hello US guys,

what are you doing ? Germany is finished, UK is 90% finished, India, Austria and Switzerland are 50% finished.

US is still 0%. Come on guys. Please help me to create a US version of this hack. It can't be so difficult. If every other country can find this data ... you should be able as well.

Cheers,

[DaveLogic]

Hi UK guys,

i have done my best now and i think i have taken the most out of it.

First of all the data you provided does not match each other... e.g. the one data set start with post code A10 and the other one starts with A1,A2,A3,etc. So i am missing this data completly because i have no GEO data for these post codes.

In addition i am missing an area called channel islands completly. I have just the name and no information at all about this area.

Regardless of these problems i took me some time to make the data unique and to bring them into the right format. I took the area names and the post codes. I disregard the city names completly. And if i had double names for areas i took the first ones as the actual name for the post codes. Please keep in mind that i am not living in UK and as a foreigner it is hard to find the best way.

The easiest way for you would be to crosscheck the source data from me and if you want to correct them, then feel free to proceed BUT please share your changes with us. This will improve this hack for all of us.

Unfortunately i had to redraw the complete map and i found out that your UK map is totally incompatible with the german map. As a result out of this i have to create a new zip file for the UK version of this hack. I have to point this out to every person that the files for each map are not compatible. But this is still a BETA version. This is something for the future.

Now let's show you what i got so far. Please have a look at the following test site and provide some feedback. What kind of feedback ? Are the locations correct ? I just took 3 examples. Let's see what you think of this ... it was a long night for me :-) .

Testlink (http://webforum.no-ip.org/forum/locator_uk.php)

Cheers,

The UK map appears to be working correctly...You work very fast!!

[Pseudomizer]

The UK map appears to be working correctly...You work very fast!!

Hi Dave,

i do my best and if i start something i want to get it done.

Question: Did you make the appropriate installations already on your server for this hack ? In detail: Image_GIS, etc ? If yes, i would like to post the UK data you need to get this up and running. What do you think ?

Cheers,

[DaveLogic]

Hi Dave,

i do my best and if i start something i want to get it done.

Question: Did you make the appropriate installations already on your server for this hack ? In detail: Image_GIS, etc ? If yes, i would like to post the UK data you need to get this up and running. What do you think ?

Cheers,

No but I can do it right now........I have checked and I have Pear etc.....

[Pseudomizer]

No but I can do it right now........I have checked and I have Pear etc.....

Ok Dave. Here we go. Take this ZIP file and check it out.

Cheers,

[Pseudomizer]

Any feedback so far about the UK map ? Does it work ?

Cheers,

[DaveLogic]

Any feedback so far about the UK map ? Does it work ?

Cheers,

I've had a bit of a nightmare....For some reason I cannot use my shell acount at the moment..I've contacted my host (who do provide it!) but I'm still awaiting a response...I have used it extensively before this.Although I know Pear is installed I cannot setup the other modules yet..Because I'm impatient and also exited about this working I tried installing Pear into the root (You can do this with ImageMagick and various other mods sometimes)...I used this installer http://www.phpkitchen.com/article.php?story=20021201062516970...Just out of interest and as you must know more about this than me. Do you think that this is possible or should I just hold on?? - There is a built in installer for all of the extra mods

[Pseudomizer]

I've had a bit of a nightmare....For some reason I cannot use my shell acount at the moment..I've contacted my host (who do provide it!) but I'm still awaiting a response...I have used it extensively before this.Although I know Pear is installed I cannot setup the other modules yet..Because I'm impatient and also exited about this working I tried installing Pear into the root (You can do this with ImageMagick and various other mods sometimes)...I used this installer http://www.phpkitchen.com/article.php?story=20021201062516970...Just out of interest and as you must know more about this than me. Do you think that this is possible or should I just hold on?? - There is a built in installer for all of the extra mods

The problem will be PHP. You have to enter the PEAR path into your php.ini file. If you install it into your root folder i do not know if the php files will find the Geo folder. I never tried it before.

I am sorry but i have only root server and due to this i do not have restrictions like that. Otherwise i would have tested it. But if you want to go for it, then try it. Give it a shot. Then we know for other people if it works or not.

I know from other people that they are using PEAR in their root folder and it works for them. So the only question that remains would be: "Will the Geo folder be recognized ?". Let's see what you will tell us. Good luck.

Cheers,

[Pseudomizer]

Hi @LL,

i am very sorry but i just discovered a serious bug in the performance enhancements. Under certain circumstances it does not update the new files accordingly. So please add the following changes to your files:

locator.php:

Find:

$fp=fopen("./data/numbers.dat","a");
fwrite($fp,$result[0]);
fclose($fp);


Just below add:

$datei = file("$count_data");


Then find:

if ( $data_has_changed == "1" )
{


Just below add:

unlink("./data/numbers.dat");
unlink("./data/users.dat");


Now delete the following files on your server: ./data/users.dat and ./data/numbers.dat. The first view of the page should run all queries but the reload of the page should have just 5 or 6 queries.

Sorry for the inconvenience. Now your locator page should be cached until the number of ZIP codes will change. I will implement this into the next update of the ZIP file.

P.S.: This is also not implemented in the UK version of th?s hack. So please add these changes to the UK version of this hack as well.

Cheers,

[Pseudomizer]

UK ? Any feedback so far ?

Cheers,

[DaveLogic]

UK ? Any feedback so far ?

Cheers,

I'm still having a nightmare...My host agreed to install the 4 extra mods.The first 2 installed ok but the XML_SVG wouldn't...I have managed to install Pear into my Public_HTML root sucessfully and have installed the 4 mods but as you stated there is still a problem finding GEO...I did some research and evidently if the following is added to the top of every Pear dependant page it should work.


<?php
ini_set(
"include_path", (
"path/to/your/pear/folder" .
PATH_SEPERATOR .
ini_get("include_path")
)
)
);
?>


My question is "Is this correct and what files need this adding to?" The site I got this information from is here http://builder.com.com/5100-6371-5163311.html

This is the error I receive after adding the above to locator.php

Warning: main(Geo/Geo.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/clubnu00/public_html/forums/locator.php on line 32

Fatal error: main(): Failed opening required 'Geo/Geo.php' (include_path='home/clubnu00/public_html/pear/PEAR/PATH_SEPERATOR.:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php') in /home/clubnu00/public_html/forums/locator.php on line 32

[Pseudomizer]

Hello Dave,

there is an easier way to get this running. Let me guess: You can the error message "no stable version/release found" for XML_SVG ? This is correct because they have a problem with the installer. They are working on this issue. As a workaround you have to do the following:

Instead of typing "pear install XML_SVG" you have to download the latest stable version as a tar.gz file from the PEAR website and the install it with "pear install XML_SVG_versionXXXX.tar.gz".

And of course you can not install IMAGE_GIS because this depends on XML_SVG. So if the one of the 3 packages fail you will not be able to install IMAGE_GIS.

Tell this to your provider and he should be able to install all 4 modules and copy the Geo directory into the PEAR directory as well.

Cheers,

[Johnny]

has anyone did the U.S map yet

[Pseudomizer]

has anyone did the U.S map yet

Hi Johnny,

NO. No one approached me yet to give me the US data. I am still waiting for input. As long as i do not have any input, i can not create anything. Sorry.

Cheers,

[oly51]

Hi Johnny,

NO. No one approached me yet to give me the US data. I am still waiting for input. As long as i do not have any input, i can not create anything. Sorry.

Cheers, Pseudomizer - What about this link?: http://forums.devshed.com/showthread.php?t=157248

It's free Zip code database and it's in MySQL. Hope it has the data you need. :D

[58sniper]

<a href="http://forums.devshed.com/t60834/s.html&highlight=zip+codes" target="_blank">http://forums.devshed.com/t60834/s.h...ight=zip+codes</a>

[Pseudomizer]

http://forums.devshed.com/t60834/s.html&highlight=zip+codes

Hi 58sniper,

i also found this page during my google search but question:

Did you try to download at least one of these files ? You would not believe it, but NONE of them work. Thanks so far but this link does not help.

I am currently investigating the first link from Oly51. Let's hope i can use this data.

Cheers,

[58sniper]

I do have a MySQL database with 40,000+ zips in it if you need it....

[Pseudomizer]

I do have a MySQL database with 40,000+ zips in it if you need it....

Hi 58sniper,

what i need is a SQL file/source file like:

City, x-location, y-location, ZIP codes

Example:

'San Francisco', '37.65863', '122.30839','94005 94014 94044 94066 94080'

If you can provide this for US for all ZIP codes, then yes. Otherwise no.

Cheers,

[Pseudomizer]

Pseudomizer - What about this link?: http://forums.devshed.com/showthread.php?t=157248

It's free Zip code database and it's in MySQL. Hope it has the data you need. :D

Hi oly51,

i just checked out this data. This data is correct and includes the correct GEO locations ... BUT ... i am missing one important part in this database: the City names. This DB is useless for me without the city names like

94005 San Francisco x y

What they have is:

CA94005 x y

I do not know how i can get the city names into this db with all these zip codes. But this is the best source so far. With the city names this would be perfect and i could start working on the US version of this hack. But without ... no.

Cheers,

[58sniper]

42741 zip codes here. This is the best I could do.
It's in the format:

99950 +55.542007 -131.432682 Ketchikan AK Ketchikan Gateway Standard

Which is zip, lat, lon, city, state, county, class

The only thing that this is missing (that I've determined) is the aliases. Some zips (mine included) are actually used in more than one city. Only the primary city is listed.

[Pseudomizer]

42741 zip codes here. This is the best I could do.
It's in the format:

99950 +55.542007 -131.432682 Ketchikan AK Ketchikan Gateway Standard

Which is zip, lat, lon, city, state, county, class

The only thing that this is missing (that I've determined) is the aliases. Some zips (mine included) are actually used in more than one city. Only the primary city is listed.

Hi 58sniper,

just for my understanding: What do you mean with aliases are missing ? The format i need is, that one city can have multiple ZIP codes or suburbs. In this case i have to choose one name for the city and add all the ZIP codes to this city. This is what i need. Is this what you mean ?

And another question: You can provide 42741 ZIP codes. How many are there in total ? Any idea ? So how many are you missing ?

Cheers,

[58sniper]

As far as I know, that includes all of the zip codes in the US. Some will say that there are more than 70,000, but that's not entirely true.

In my case:
48315 is my zip code. But that zip code is used in Utica, and in Shelby Twp (where I live).

If I look up my zip code, it's in the database, but only listed as Utica. Some databases would list it twice, once with each city name. Mine lists them once with the primary city. No duplicates.

[Pseudomizer]

As far as I know, that includes all of the zip codes in the US. Some will say that there are more than 70,000, but that's not entirely true.

In my case:
48315 is my zip code. But that zip code is used in Utica, and in Shelby Twp (where I live).

If I look up my zip code, it's in the database, but only listed as Utica. Some databases would list it twice, once with each city name. Mine lists them once with the primary city. No duplicates.

Ok. Let me check what i can do here. I will come back to you if i can use this file. Thanks so far.

Cheers,

[oly51]

Here's a MySQL dump of a Zip code dB

[Pseudomizer]

Here's a MySQL dump of a Zip code dB

Ui. This looks good. I will install this into a db and i have run a couple of queries to make it distinct but this looks like the best source so far. Let me check now.

Now i have 2 sources where i can check. I hope one of them will work.

Thanks so far and now please be patient. In the meantime i need volunteers to install this hack on their servers and obviously this volunteers should be located in US. Who wants to be the BETA tester ?

Please make sure that you get the prerequisites running before i give you the data.

Cheers,

[58sniper]

Ui. This looks good. I will install this into a db and i have run a couple of queries to make it distinct but this looks like the best source so far. Let me check now.

Now i have 2 sources where i can check. I hope one of them will work.

Thanks so far and now please be patient. In the meantime i need volunteers to install this hack on their servers and obviously this volunteers should be located in US. Who wants to be the BETA tester ?

Please make sure that you get the prerequisites running before i give you the data.

Cheers,

I've got three installations I can install it on...

[Pseudomizer]

I've got three installations I can install it on...

Hi 58sniper,

then please install it on at least one. Please try to it to have it ready until i have resorted the data you have given me. Perhaps you run into some problems which we can solve until then.

Cheers,

[oly51]

...Thanks so far and now please be patient. In the meantime i need volunteers to install this hack on their servers and obviously this volunteers should be located in US. Who wants to be the BETA tester ? I'll give it a shot!

[oly51]

I'll give it a shot!...Well maybe not.
My host will not install the Geo folder to the pear folder. :disappointed:

[Pseudomizer]

...Well maybe not.
My host will not install the Geo folder to the pear folder. :disappointed:

Why ? This is no security issue. *strange*

Cheers,

[Dras]

The US maps are not as freely aviable as you think, more than 90% of all mareicans only care about money so it's hard. If you want I can get The microsoft map thingy if you know how to get the data out.

[Gamingforce]

I think I hit Jackpot!
http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/zips.txt

[Johnny]

good ol goverment sites, they just like telling us everything on their...nice find, maybe that should help out...

[Pseudomizer]

I think I hit Jackpot!
http://www.census.gov/tiger/tms/gazetteer/zips.txt

Let me check this. I am a little bit confused because some map details have e.g. San Francisco with -122 and others have +122 for the coordinate. I am not a GEO expert. I have to check this.

At the moment with the current map information i have, it puts San Francisco into the center of Iowa. *weird*

Cheers,

[Bro_Joey_Gowdy]

clicks install

[Torben]

Im anxious for this release in the US. Is there any word on the US release?
Thanks!
~Torben
www.desmonorthwest.com

[royals]

that looks great! I'll wait eagerly for a US version :D

[Pseudomizer]

Im anxious for this release in the US. Is there any word on the US release?
Thanks!
~Torben
www.desmonorthwest.com

Hi,

i have massive problems with the US map details. The geographical locations are not set where they should be set. I am trying to figure out why. I am still working on this but please be patient.

Cheers,

[teksigns]

Let me check this. I am a little bit confused because some map details have e.g. San Francisco with -122 and others have +122 for the coordinate. I am not a GEO expert. I have to check this.

At the moment with the current map information i have, it puts San Francisco into the center of Iowa. *weird*

Cheers,



hmmm maybe your file is bad ....redownload .......


i downloaded the file and -122 does not exist in the file .

[Andreas]

Nice hack, but this one seems to be much more powerful (but for phpBB :()
http://217.160.138.71/development/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=5

I'd really love to see these features (eg. hightlight, zoom, distances, next members, etc.) in your hack :)

[Pseudomizer]

Hello @LL,

first of all i want to comment on the last info and then i will give a general update about this hack.

@KirbyDE: I know this hack already and this hack is only for phpBB and i tried to convert it to vb and i failed. It is much more then just an adjustment. It is fully integrated into phpBB. In addition i do not think that it is much more powerful. The official version does not have the features you are mentioning. Only the development link you just posted have these features and it is not finished yet. It still has bugs in it. Regardless of this i want to add this for all people here.

@ALL: I just installed this hack on a board with over 10000 users and my hack failed miserably. The performance was reduced due to my SQL loads and the complete server stopped for about 1 minute every SQL request. This is UNACCEPTABLE. I had to remove the hack immediately.

As it looks like this hack works fine for small communities but not for large boards.

2 options now:

1) discontinue the hack completly
2) start from scratch with a complete new system/concept

The OpenGeoDB is not optimized for so many SQL queries. It is for finding one specific location + nearest locations and nothing else.

Sorry for that but i do either create an overall good working hack or none but nothing between.

Cheers,

[Andreas]

Hmm ... bad.
Seems lik I have to port the phpBB mod myself then.
Gonna let you know if it works out (my board has approx. 18.000 members).

[Pseudomizer]

Hmm ... bad.
Seems lik I have to port the phpBB mod myself then.
Gonna let you know if it works out (my board has approx. 18.000 members).

Hi @LL,

i just found a modification of the GEO DB class which is much more efficient. I would have to test this version and then come back to you. Give me time and i think i will be able to bring out something. Remember: This is still BETA.

Cheers,

[shortbus1662]

hey guys, I don't know how you are doing this hack, but I have one similiar for my site. go to www.ultimatenurse.com and click on "user map" and see it.

It doesn't use zip codes or anything. A user simply places a "pin" in the place they are located. Would this improve the way this works?

[Pseudomizer]

hey guys, I don't know how you are doing this hack, but I have one similiar for my site. go to www.ultimatenurse.com and click on "user map" and see it.

It doesn't use zip codes or anything. A user simply places a "pin" in the place they are located. Would this improve the way this works?

This would be an easy way of implementing a PIN solution which would not check if the location is right. The ZIP code would be a way to check if the ZIP code exists. But this depends on the requirement. So if a user is looking for a solution like yours ... GO FOR IT. Every solution is welcome which enhances the vbulletin.

Cheers,

[Dennis01]

This would be such a cool feature.... :up:

[sblum]

Honestly, I think a better way of going about a hack like this is just to have a map of the globe, and let each user place a pin on the map where they want their location to be, and then when you hover over it it will say the username + the city/country (if applicable) they live in. Then one someone clicks on the map it just echos all this information that prestored. I had a hack like this on differet bb software and it worked great.

[fleccy]

thanks ive needed this hack for a long time im going to install it.

[roundhost]

Wouldnt it be easier to make it show what planet people are from in our solar system? :p

[Pseudomizer]

Wouldnt it be easier to make it show what planet people are from in our solar system? :p

Wouldn't it be funnier to be a mod of this forum and delete such postings? :devious:

Cheers,

[ranger2kxlt]

Would love for the US map :-D

[DjTaz]

Pseudomizer - thats an excellent idea i must say.

I was having a think .... what if you left the people on their boards select the map they want ... and have a dropdown with locations on it that the Admin can specify using an small sql table .... like say 3 or 4 bits of info ... dropdown location, Xvector , Y vector. This would mean there would be less locations available to the user ,and the admin could set where on the chosen map drop down was.

Im not sure what you have done already , but the idea is excellent , and id love to see you get this working properly.

Thanks for the efforts either way

[Pseudomizer]

Pseudomizer - thats an excellent idea i must say.

I was having a think .... what if you left the people on their boards select the map they want ... and have a dropdown with locations on it that the Admin can specify using an small sql table .... like say 3 or 4 bits of info ... dropdown location, Xvector , Y vector. This would mean there would be less locations available to the user ,and the admin could set where on the chosen map drop down was.

Im not sure what you have done already , but the idea is excellent , and id love to see you get this working properly.

Thanks for the efforts either way

Hello DjTaz,

i have a problem at the moment. Please read the following posting first https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost.php?p=542473&postcount=76 and then i can tell you that this new system i have found is based on the german map only. I have not found any US maps so far for this specific system.

In addition i receive complaints about my BETA version because many people do not have access to the PEAR section of the webserver and their providers are declining installing it.

I am back to the roots at the moment evaluating multiple systems which can handle heavy load. My version can NOT handle heavy load without killing the SQL server in terms of performance.

Best regards,

[ranger2kxlt]

Some like this is what you need?

http://www.infoplease.com/states.html

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/

http://www.lightningstorm.com/tux/jsp/gpg/lex1/mapdisplay_free.jsp

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/es

Something like that? Hopefully :-/

[ranger2kxlt]

<a href="http://monarch.tamu.edu/~maps2/us.htm" target="_blank">http://monarch.tamu.edu/~maps2/us.htm</a> just found this one, this might interest you :-D

[DjTaz]

Anything further on this ? (not to be bugging ya .. just curious) ..

Id be delighted to see this working .. Im not in the U.S. myself anyway , im in Ireland

[Pseudomizer]

Anything further on this ? (not to be bugging ya .. just curious) ..

Id be delighted to see this working .. Im not in the U.S. myself anyway , im in Ireland

Then please read the threads where i talked about UK and how to gather the required infos and maps. Without them nothing can be done. I am living in germany and i can not collect the information for other countries. This is your part.

Cheers,

[ConqSoft]

There's a Member Map hack for InvisionBoard that seems to work fairly well, if some of you guru's want to try to port it to vBulletin.

Someone sent it to me. (Attached)

[caliman]

Hi I am new to vBulletin - just installed it - and I am importing over my old YaBB site - thought I'd share a 'member map' mod I installed on my old board:

http://www.3reef.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=;action=mmall;defmap=usa

The way this works is javascript/dhtml and some flat files... but basically a member goes to the right map and uses the mouse to 'pin' a pushpin on it. The coordinates are saved in their profile. This might be an easier approach than the zip code thing. :lick:

[ConqSoft]

Yeah, that's the way the one for InvisionBoard that I posted works. The user places their own pushpin.

[caliman]

Ahhh well there you go.. I do think that would be easier.

[bold]

There's a Member Map hack for InvisionBoard that seems to work fairly well, if some of you guru's want to try to port it to vBulletin.

Someone sent it to me. (Attached)

someone port this please

[Pseudomizer]

Ok guys. Just to make one thing clear. I will not release any map hack with placing pins on a map. This has been discussed before and this is not my intention of this map hack.

If you need someone to convert these map hacks from other boards to VB then good luck, but I will not do it for sure.

My current solution works for Germany and UK with the limitation of up to 2000 users. A new solution will come in this year with a better performing solution but until then that's it.

Best regards,

Pseudomizer

[Torben]

How about this? http://www.thedigitalmapstore.com/Free_Stuff/ZIP_Code_Database/zip_code_database.html
It's a couple of years out of date but worth a shot me thinks.
Let's get this thing going again! :devious:
One other idea - google maps and the other mapping services online all use geo data to calculate directions and display maps etc. google maps may even have an sdk or even an api for their service. Just a thought - might be worthwhile investigating.

[zeeko1212]

Coooool Hack!

[mfarmerhi]

The 2.2 World Map works like a charm for 3.0.7 boards if you follow the instructions in this thread: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?p=745205#post745205

[Pseudomizer]

The 2.2 World Map works like a charm for 3.0.7 boards if you follow the instructions in this thread: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?p=745205#post745205

Sorry, but why should users place a PIN and enter their information again? They did it already during registration by entering their ZIP code. This hack provides map details by using the ZIP codes. No placing of PINs required.

Ok, it's flash and nothing special.

Thanks for this link but I know many of these manual map methods and I kicked all of them.

Cheers,

[mfarmerhi]

My post was in response to those seeking a map for the US, Canada, Latin America or Europe besides the few countries you've included.

Until you include those maps, it seems to me that the 2.2 hack is the best available, certainly for any board with an international membership...

Your hack is great. And when it includes the rest of the world will be wonderful.

[m0nde]

My post was in response to those seeking a map for the US, Canada, Latin America or Europe besides the few countries you've included.

Until you include those maps, it seems to me that the 2.2 hack is the best available, certainly for any board with an international membership...

Your hack is great. And when it includes the rest of the world will be wonderful.I agree completely. Whatever solution comes out will have to include the rest of the world for it to be embraced by the whole vBulletin community. This is especially true because vBulletin was developed in Great Britain. I, myself, live in Canada and, though my board has a large American membership, would definitely like Canadian postal codes included.

I will try to find latitude/longitude & postal code information for Canada as well as the rest of the world and will post it here once I find it.

- Sid