Log into the Developer Portal and select the Global IP Locator Product from the list at the left: There is a similar table summarising the fields that are returns in a JSON response but this is easier to understand after you have seen the mechanism in action. In this case you don't have to panic because a sequential count will identify your request perfectly uniquely - unless you have multiple agents making requests when a prefix identifying each one solves the problem. I don't know about you but generating a "unique" anything always sends me into a panic. The other input parameters are straightforward apart from a unique string value identifying the request.
#MELLISA IP LOCATOR TRIAL#
You can get an ID from Melissa for a free trial by supplying your name, email and phone number. Note you need a Customer ID for any of the APIs to work. First you fill a data structure: InputĪ unique string value identifying the request Associate a physical location with an IP address.The documentation says that you can use it to:
#MELLISA IP LOCATOR CODE#
As well as city and postal code you also get connection type and speed, latitude and longitude, domain name etc. The Global IP Locator takes an IP address and returns not just the location of the entity that the address is registered to but a surprising amount of additional data. In this case simple is best because all of the APIs work in more or less the same way but require more data to be specified. You are going to have to get the data into the JSON and you are going to have to get the data out of the response, but this is a matter of working with your own code and so much easier to get started with. this isn't the final code that you are going to use. It also provides boilerplate code in a range of languages that gets the same job done. This is where the new dashboard approach used by the Melissa Developer Portal comes in.īasically a dashboard lets you submit queries that it helps you construct and see the answer. These are often fine when you know what you are doing, but even the best error messages can be a mystery when you are first starting. From my earlier comments you can guess that I prefer POST because it hides the data from the end user but both are supported.Įasy in theory but there is still a lot to get right and if it doesn't work you have to navigate the error messages returned by the server. Just fill the data structure JSON and make the GET or POST HTTP call using the correct URL. If you are using the JSON API then the steps are always the same. If you want to use REST then the documentation makes it easy and there are lots of examples. So, as you can probably guess the rest of this article focuses on JSON. Keep the data in the body as a serialized object and use the URL to identify endpoints seems like a much better idea. If you are going to use REST then at least make it POST based so that the data isn't visible to the end user, even if the logic of REST suggests it should be a POST.įor me the whole idea of REST is a wrong turning in the design of apps and is based on a misunderstanding. This is partly due to the idea that the URL should indicate a location not an action, but it is also partly a reaction to coding data into the URL. The Melissa APIs support both a classic REST API and a JSON based request which is very easy to implement in any language with even basic JSON support but it is particularly easy if you use jQuery.Īs far as I'm concerned JSON wins without much consideration of REST.
In principle creating an app that accesses a web API is easy.You have to specify the input parameters, make a Get or a Post HTTP request and deal with the data you get back. This can be accessed from Melissa's new Developer Portal. Now I need to do something more sophisticated and the good news is that all of the data cleaning services offered by Melissa have been made easier to use with the addition of a dashboard that constructs the necessary calls. I've used Melissa before in projects to verify clients' address details, but with the help of an off-the-shelf component - jQuery UI's Auto-complete widget.
#MELLISA IP LOCATOR VERIFICATION#
Melissa’s Developer Portal offers data verification services including Business Coder UK (firmographics), Global Address, Phone, and Email Verification, Global Express Entry, IP Location, and Personator (ID Verification). Who can afford the resources to do the job? The best solution for most of us is to use a cloud-based service and Melissa has now made it easy for you to try it out. Checking data can be difficult, simply because of the need to keep cleaning the reference data.
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