On 03/03/2006 11:10 Tim Cutts wrote: > On 3 Feb 2006, at 10:53 am, John Robson wrote: > > It's hard to believe that a strict geographical hierarchy > > of postcode numbers is still necessary in this day and age. > > Absolutely it is. There's not much point in postcodes at all > otherwise. By having them geographically hierarchical, they are > still of use to human sorters, as opposed to machines. If the > machines break, the postcode remains useful. That's a very good point - I suppose I'm thinking too much of the world of automated tracking systems and barcodes (I've been struggling to get a parcel collected this week) and not enough of real people sorting handwritten mail... John//