Xaddress
Languages and libraries
location encoding
SHOW HN2016
415points
199comments
#30of 2,264 in 2016
Top 2%of 2016 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
16 positive, 43 neutral or asking, 7 mixed, 39 critical, out of 105 comments about the project. Thread score -0.25.
Idea: 11 for, 17 againstDesign: 0 for, 12 againstDocs: 1 for, 4 againstExecution: 2 for, 3 againstPerformance: 1 for, 3 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Visual icon hash is a clever error-check and memory aid
From 3 comments
At first I was skeptical of 'yet another geocode', but the addition of the avatar alongside it (for error-checking and instant-recognizability purposes) makes this scheme…
niftich on HNIt is nicely done and unlike what3words.com (which is very similar) this version isn't commercial. The icon acting as a visual hash is a nice touch.
wscott on HNAFRAID SEA here. To avoid confusion, might be best to exclude words that are common placenames from the word list (street, road, lake) as well as rude words. Great to see an open…
goodmachine on HN
Open alternative to what3words, which is commercial
From 2 comments
It is nicely done and unlike what3words.com (which is very similar) this version isn't commercial. The icon acting as a visual hash is a nice touch.
wscott on HNAFRAID SEA here. To avoid confusion, might be best to exclude words that are common placenames from the word list (street, road, lake) as well as rude words. Great to see an open…
goodmachine on HN
Objections
Word list contains profanity and awkward words
From 3 comments
My current location is 5308 AFRAID ANUS. Might be best to exclude ANUS from the word list.
codev on HNFrom the list of words at https://github.com/roberdam/Xaddress/blob/master/en/adj_en.csv, I take it that some locations will be labelled DESPERATE, UNSPEAKABLE, POSTDOCTORAL,…
swehner on HNAt first I was skeptical of 'yet another geocode', but the addition of the avatar alongside it (for error-checking and instant-recognizability purposes) makes this scheme…
niftich on HN
Hash-like words are hard to verify; one letter error breaks address
From 1 comment
Maybe I'm missing something but why does "Pearl" mean 8480 and "Magical" -6129? If that's a hash, I really dislike this, because A: humans can't do hashing in their heads, and B:…
mabbo on HN
Does not encode routing, navigation or service-area information
From 1 comment
My biggest problem with this sort of schema (and the similar ones other people have mentioned in this thread) is that it doesn't solve any of the difficult problems an addressing…
saalweachter on HN
Coordinates drift over time (tectonic motion) and lack floor-level precision
From 1 comment
As a sidenote, Australia moves about 7cm north annually [1], so any encoding of GPS location is not flexible enough in the long term. Also only encoding lat/long makes it so you…
sly010 on HN
Requests
Curate or filter the word list
From 2 comments
From the list of words at https://github.com/roberdam/Xaddress/blob/master/en/adj_en.csv, I take it that some locations will be labelled DESPERATE, UNSPEAKABLE, POSTDOCTORAL,…
swehner on HNI think this is a really nice idea, and it seems somewhat more memorizable than a what3words address because it incorporates numbers. Really cool work! The only two complaints I…
yladiz on HN
Add versioning to word lists
From 1 comment
I don't see any versioning on this, and that seems like it is something that needs to be implemented ASAP if you actually want any of these addresses to start to be used in the…
SamBam on HN
Link to existing postal addresses
From 1 comment
I have seen a lot of these co-ordinate based alternative address mechanisms (in fact the author gives a list -- https://github.com/roberdam/Xaddress#compare-encodings). But in my…
parennoob on HN
Questions
How does it handle apartments and floors?
From 2 comments
I think this is a neat way of encoding things. But this also has a lot of shortcomings that existing mailing addresses don't have; it's really only useful for identifying a…
jxf on HNAs a sidenote, Australia moves about 7cm north annually [1], so any encoding of GPS location is not flexible enough in the long term. Also only encoding lat/long makes it so you…
sly010 on HN
Can it work without a city name?
From 1 comment
I think this is a really nice idea, and it seems somewhat more memorizable than a what3words address because it incorporates numbers. Really cool work! The only two complaints I…
yladiz on HN
Alternatives named
what3words
From 2 comments
Isn't this pretty much the same concept as http://what3words.com/, or am I mistaken?
diskooo on HNreminds me of http://what3words.com/
Ocha on HN
Mapcode
From 1 comment
Yet another location encoding. Why not MapCode[1]? >Designed to be used in low tech environments What are supposed uses of encoded lattitude and longitude in "low tech…
ComodoHacker on HN
Open Location Code
From 1 comment
I like this comparison: https://github.com/google/open-location-code/blob/master/docs/comparison.adoc Which makes it also clear why open location code is really smart…
karussell on HN
Maidenhead Locator System
From 1 comment
IMHO the Maidenhead Locator System [1] solves this problem very nicely. Locations are concise and can be specified with arbitrary precision. And the encoding scheme makes vocal…
datenwolf on HN
MGRS
From 1 comment
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned MGRS as a somewhat similar system. Coordinates look like so; 4QFJ 1234 5678. That means the coordinate is in the 100km grid-square named 4QFJ.…
slavik81 on HN