Geoname data (PHP)

A PHP library for downloading and converting Geonames data. This library provides easy access to both Postal Codes and Gazetteer data from Geonames.

Features

• Download postal codes data for specific countries or all countries
• Download detailed geographical data (Gazetteer) including administrative divisions
• Convert data to JSON format with proper structure
• Import data directly to MongoDB with proper indexing
• Memory-efficient processing for large datasets
• Progress bars for all operations

How It Works

Admin Code Resolution

When downloading gazetteer data, the library automatically downloads admin1CodesASCII.txt and admin2Codes.txt from GeoNames to resolve administrative division names (e.g., converting admin code "40" to "Bangkok").

Memory-Efficient Processing

Data is processed using streaming to handle large datasets without exhausting memory. For MongoDB imports, records are inserted in batches of 1000 for optimal performance.

Automatic Cleanup

Temporary files (downloaded ZIP files, extracted data files, and admin code files) are automatically cleaned up after processing completes.

Installation

composer require farzai/geonames

Usage

Postal Codes

Download postal codes for a specific country:

./bin/geonames geonames:download TH

Download postal codes for all countries:

./bin/geonames geonames:download all

Options:

• --output (-o): Output directory (default: ./data)
• --format (-f): Output format (default: json, options: json, mongodb)
• --mongodb-uri: MongoDB connection URI (default: mongodb://localhost:27017)
• --mongodb-db: MongoDB database name (default: geonames)
• --mongodb-collection: MongoDB collection name (default: postal_codes)

The postal codes data includes:

• Country code
• Postal code
• Place name
• Administrative divisions (state/province, county/district, community)
• Latitude and longitude
• Accuracy level

Gazetteer Data

Download geographical data for a specific country:

./bin/geonames geonames:gazetteer:download TH

Download geographical data for all countries:

./bin/geonames geonames:gazetteer:download all

Options:

• --output (-o): Output directory (default: ./data)
• --format (-f): Output format (default: json, options: json, mongodb)
• --mongodb-uri: MongoDB connection URI (default: mongodb://localhost:27017)
• --mongodb-db: MongoDB database name (default: geonames)
• --mongodb-collection: MongoDB collection name (default: gazetteer)

The Gazetteer data includes:

• Geoname ID
• Name (with ASCII and alternate names)
• Geographical coordinates
• Feature class and code
• Administrative divisions with names
• Population
• Elevation
• Digital elevation model (DEM)
• Timezone
• Modification date

Data Structure

Postal Codes Structure

JSON Format

{
    "country_code": "TH",
    "postal_code": "10200",
    "place_name": "Bang Rak",
    "admin_name1": "Bangkok",
    "admin_code1": "10",
    "admin_name2": "",
    "admin_code2": "",
    "admin_name3": "",
    "admin_code3": "",
    "latitude": 13.7235,
    "longitude": 100.5147,
    "accuracy": 1
}

MongoDB Format

In MongoDB, the postal codes data has the same structure as JSON but includes an additional location field for geospatial queries:

{
    "country_code": "TH",
    "postal_code": "10200",
    "place_name": "Bang Rak",
    "admin_name1": "Bangkok",
    "admin_code1": "10",
    "admin_name2": "",
    "admin_code2": "",
    "admin_name3": "",
    "admin_code3": "",
    "latitude": 13.7235,
    "longitude": 100.5147,
    "accuracy": 1,
    "location": {
        "type": "Point",
        "coordinates": [100.5147, 13.7235]
    }
}

The MongoDB collection is indexed for efficient queries:

• Compound index on country_code and postal_code (unique)
• Index on country_code
• Index on postal_code
• Geospatial index on location

Gazetteer Structure

JSON Format

{
    "geoname_id": 1609350,
    "name": "Bangkok",
    "ascii_name": "Bangkok",
    "alternate_names": ["Krung Thep", "กรุงเทพมหานคร"],
    "latitude": 13.75,
    "longitude": 100.51667,
    "feature_class": "P",
    "feature_code": "PPLC",
    "country_code": "TH",
    "cc2": [],
    "admin1_code": "40",
    "admin1_name": "Bangkok",
    "admin2_code": "",
    "admin2_name": "",
    "admin3_code": "",
    "admin4_code": "",
    "population": 5104476,
    "elevation": 2,
    "dem": 4,
    "timezone": "Asia/Bangkok",
    "modification_date": "2023-01-12"
}

MongoDB Format

In MongoDB, the gazetteer data uses slightly different field names and includes a location field for geospatial queries:

{
    "geonameid": 1609350,
    "name": "Bangkok",
    "asciiname": "Bangkok",
    "alternatenames": ["Krung Thep", "กรุงเทพมหานคร"],
    "location": {
        "type": "Point",
        "coordinates": [100.51667, 13.75]
    },
    "feature_class": "P",
    "feature_code": "PPLC",
    "country_code": "TH",
    "cc2": [],
    "admin1_code": "40",
    "admin1_name": "Bangkok",
    "admin2_code": "",
    "admin2_name": "",
    "admin3_code": "",
    "admin4_code": "",
    "population": 5104476,
    "elevation": 2,
    "dem": 4,
    "timezone": "Asia/Bangkok",
    "modification_date": "2023-01-12"
}

The MongoDB collection is indexed for efficient queries:

• Geospatial index on location

MongoDB Usage Examples

Finding locations near a point

$client = new MongoDB\Client('mongodb://localhost:27017');
$collection = $client->geonames->gazetteer;

// Find all places within 5km of Bangkok
$result = $collection->find([
    'location' => [
        '$near' => [
            '$geometry' => [
                'type' => 'Point',
                'coordinates' => [100.51667, 13.75] // [longitude, latitude]
            ],
            '$maxDistance' => 5000 // 5km in meters
        ]
    ]
]);

foreach ($result as $place) {
    echo $place['name'] . ' - ' . $place['feature_code'] . PHP_EOL;
}

Finding postal codes by country

$client = new MongoDB\Client('mongodb://localhost:27017');
$collection = $client->geonames->postal_codes;

// Find all postal codes in Bangkok, Thailand
$result = $collection->find([
    'country_code' => 'TH',
    'admin_name1' => 'Bangkok'
]);

foreach ($result as $postalCode) {
    echo $postalCode['postal_code'] . ' - ' . $postalCode['place_name'] . PHP_EOL;
}

Error Handling

The library throws Farzai\Geonames\Exceptions\GeonamesException for all error conditions:

use Farzai\Geonames\Exceptions\GeonamesException;

try {
    // Download or convert operations
} catch (GeonamesException $e) {
    echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage();
}

Common error scenarios:

• File operation failures: Unable to read, write, or open files
• ZIP extraction failures: Corrupted or invalid ZIP archives
• Data not found: Missing expected data files in downloaded archives
• Missing dependencies: MongoDB extension not installed when using MongoDB format

License

This package is open-sourced software licensed under the MIT license.

Credits

• Data provided by GeoNames under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
• Developed by Parsilver