Re: st: Formatting a string variable (UK postcodes) to always be seven characters in length

[Sergiy Radyakin <serjradyakin@gmail.com>]

Catherine,

I believe you can transform this code (in Stata):

view http://radyakin.org/statalist/2014/20140204_1200.do
do http://radyakin.org/statalist/2014/20140204_1200.do

        zip       code
    aa9a9aa   AA9A 9AA
     a9a9aa    A9A 9AA
      a99aa     A9 9AA
     a999aa    A99 9AA
     aa99aa    AA9 9AA
    aa999aa   AA99 9AA

The rules are from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcodes_in_the_United_Kingdom#The_modern_postcode_system

Best, Sergiy Radyakin


On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 10:51 AM, Roberto Ferrer <refp16@gmail.com> wrote:
> Catherine,
>
> I believe you need a set of rules before figuring out the Stata
> syntax. If the postcode has 8 characters, which one do you delete? If
> it has 5, what do you add? And so on...
>
> On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 11:13 AM,  <catherine.tisch@ed.ac.uk> wrote:
>> Good afternoon
>>
>> I'm hoping someone can help me with a formatting issue with regard to UK
>> postcodes whereby I want to create a new postcode variable that is always
>> seven characters in length from a postcode variable that has between five
>> and eight characters (e.g. 7 numbers/letters with a space = 8).  I want to
>> ultimately join my cleaned postcode variable created in Stata to a postcode
>> shapefile in ArcGIS.  The postcode shapefile variable is always seven
>> characters in length, with various combinations of letters, numbers and
>> spaces, e.g.
>>
>> LN  NLL
>> LLN NLL
>> LNN NLL
>> LLNNNLL
>> LLNLNLL
>> LNL NLL
>>
>> Where L represents a letter and N a number.  I need to clean my original
>> postcode variable as there is little consistency (e.g. LN  NLL (two spaces)
>> vs LNNLL (no space) vs LN NLL (one space).
>>
>> Are there any suggestions on how I can create a new postcode variable in
>> Stata that is always seven characters in length bearing in mind that if a
>> space/s is required, there always needs to be three characters at the end
>> after the split?  I hope this all makes sense?!
>>
>> I'm using Stata 12.1, any help much appreciated.
>>
>> Many thanks
>> Catherine
>>
>>
>>
>> --
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>> Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
>>
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