Method of and apparatus for retrieving data representing a postal address from a database of postal addresses

摘要

Data representing a postal address (30) is retrieved from a coded address database (6) representing, in the form of a tree of coded postal address elements (27, 28, 29), a multiplicity of postal addresses. A dictionary (4) formed as a trie data structure is provided, the path from the root node (10) to the leaf nodes (11) representing respective postal address elements. A processor (2) receives input data (8) comprising one or more input terms (8a, 8b) for finding a postal address (30) represented in the address database (6). The processor (2) searches the dictionary (4) for entries (31) exactly corresponding to the search terms and for entries (32a, 32b, 32c) allowing for the possibility of the input data containing one or more errors. The processor then finds, by reference to a location index (5), the matched coded postal address elements (27a, 27b, 28a, 28b, 28c) corresponding to the entries (31, 32a, 32b, 32c) in the dictionary (4) determined by the processor (2) as corresponding to the input terms (8a, 8b). The processor (2) then determines which of the matched postal address elements (27a, 27b, 28a, 28b, 28c) belong to the same address (30) and then with reference to a separate decoding index (7) decodes the address elements to output a full and correctly formatted postal address (9).