Free Format Address. Details
Part 1: General Reference
| Dictionary Entry Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dictionary Entry Name: Free Format Address. Details | ||
| UID: COM000037 | Version: 1.0 | Maturity Level: 2, Matured for adoption by B/Ds on 01-02-2005 |
| Status: Approved | Last Updated: 01-02-2005 |
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| Other Versions: Nil | ||
| Related Schemas: Structured Address. Details v1.0 | ||
| Business Terms: Nil | ||
Part 2: Information Model
| Definition and Usage | |
|---|---|
| Definition | An address presented as one or more lines of free text. |
| Usage Rules | The address information sender may either
Based on the dimension of the address at the receiving end and the receiving program's knowledge of the dimension of the incoming address, the receiving program may or may not use this conversion tool to convert the incoming free-format address from one dimension to another (e.g. from a source dimension comprising 3 lines of varying length each to a target dimension comprising a maximum of 4 lines, with each comprising a maximum of 40 characters (i.e. 4x40)). New applications that decide to record residential or organization address as free text are advised to capture an Address in English using a 5x40 dimension and an Address in Chinese using a 5x30 dimension. New applications that capture address through a bilingual user interface (i.e. both English and Chinese instructions are provided through the interface and the information provider may choose to input either English or Chinese Characters) are suggested to capture the address using a 5x40 dimension. Please refer to Address CSTF Paper 2004/01 paragraph 27 and Appendix B for the rationale. Applications doing major enhancements and decide to continue recording residential or organization address as free text are also advised to modify their data entry screen to capture an Address in English using a 5x40 dimension and an Address in Chinese using a 5x30 dimension. Applications and application forms that capture free-format address are highly recommended to provide guidelines to instruct the information provider how to write an address so as to facilitate postal delivery. Please refer to this sample guideline which is based on the Post Office's recommendation. |
| Data Structure Diagram |
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| Details of Basic Business Information Entities (BIEs) / Aggregated BIEs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order | UID | Dictionary Entry Name | Property Term | Cardinality |
| Definition | Data Type | Restriction | ||
| 1 | COM000038 | Free Format Address. Incoming Dimension. Address Incoming Dimension | Incoming Dimension | 0..1 |
| An optional property used by the sending program to inform the receiving program the dimension of the exchanged address. This property is only applicable to free format address with a "rectangular" dimension such as 5x40, 4x50, etc. For addresses with irregular dimensions, the receiver may either agree with the sender on the dimension at design stage, or leave it to the conversion tool to detect and convert the incoming address to the target dimension. | N/A | N/A | ||
| 1.1 | COM000042 | Address Incoming Dimension. Row. Count | Row Count | 1 |
| The maximum number of lines for a "rectangular" free format address dimension. For example '5' lines for a 5x40 dimension. | Integer | Minimum inclusive: 1 | ||
| 1.2 | COM000043 | Address Incoming Dimension. Column. Count | Column Count | 1 |
| The maximum number of characters per line for a "rectangular" free format address dimension. For example '40' characters for a 5x40 dimension. | Integer | Minimum inclusive: 1 | ||
| 2 | COM000039 | Free Format Address. Language. Code | Language Code | 0..1 |
| An optional language code (based on ISO 639-1 two letter codes) that indicates whether the exchanged address may contain Chinese characters (en= the address will not contain Chinese characters, zh=the address may contain Chinese character). Unless the receiving program has prior knowledge of the language used, "en" can be assumed if this property is not defined. | String | Length: 2 Enumeration: en, zh |
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| 3 | COM000040 | Free Format Address. Address Line. Text | Address Line | 1..unbounded |
| A single line of address for addresses that are captured as discrete lines, or an entire block of text (including embedded line separators) that make up an address. Depending on how an address data entry program captures an address, the address content may contain special characters like "carriage-return" and "line-feed". For example, if the address is captured through a text-box and the information provider types "enter" to preset the look of the address, the captured address will be stored as a string with "carriage-return" or "carriage-return + line-feed". Please refer to the usage rule for other considerations. |
String | N/A | ||
| Related Code Lists |
|---|
| Nil |
Part 3: Sample XML Data
| Sample XML Code Segment |
|---|
<MyProjectDataItem> |
Part 4: Context Categories
| Context Categories | |
|---|---|
| Business Process Classification | In all contexts |
| Service / Product Classification | In all contexts |
| Industry Classification | In all contexts |
| Geopolitical | In all contexts |
| Official Constraints | None |
Part 5: Related Materials
| Supplementary References |
|---|
| Address CSTF Paper 2003/01 "Common Schema for Address" |
| Address CSTF Paper 2004/01 "Common Schema for Address (Paper No. 2)" (recommended reading) |
| Sample Instructions on how to write a free-format address |
| Related Downloads |
|---|
| XML Schema for Free Format Address. Details v1.0 |
| Free Format Address Conversion Tool |
