Web services listing
Web service documentation  -  Store Finder  -  Interactive/RetrieveNearestPOI/v1.00

StoreFinder/Interactive/RetrieveNearestPOI (v 1.00)

Calculates the nearest point of interest of a given category to a given location.

SOAP WSDL

Standard HTTP
http://services.postcodeanywhere.co.uk/StoreFinder
/interactive/RetrieveNearestPOI/v1.00/wsdlnew.ws

Secure HTTPS
https://services.postcodeanywhere.co.uk/StoreFinder
/interactive/RetrieveNearestPOI/v1.00/wsdlnew.ws

REST code samples & end points

We have sample code available for most development environments. Choose a language below and click the button to view the code.

View

We're more than just a SOAP service. Select an end point below and click the button to view an example.

View

Try it

Enter your values in the form below to try the service for yourself.

Name Value Type Description Default Example
Origin String The origin for the search. This should be an Id from FindPlaceNames, a UK postcode, UK easting + northing or Latitude, Longitude.   SW1A 1AA
MaximumItems * Integer The maximum number of items to return. If 0, all items are returned. 1 5
MaximumRadius * Float The maximum search distance in KM between the origin and a point of interest. If blank or 0, all items are returned. 0 10
MaximumTime * Float The maximum drive time in minutes between the origin and a store. Ignored for StraightLine DistanceType. If 0, all items are returned. 0 20
DistanceType * String Specifies how the distances between the stores are calculated. StraightLine StraightLine
POIType Array (comma separated list) of String The category or categories of POI you wish to retrieve the nearest of. Currently only London Underground Stations are supported; please contact us if there are other categories you would like to see added.   Underground
   

* Optional - if left blank the default is used.

Parameters

Each request to the web service requires a number of parameters, all of which are listed below. All requests require a key which was generated when you registered. You can create any number of keys, each of which can be reported on individually and have specific security settings.

Name Type Description Default Values Example
Key String The key to use to authenticate to the service.     AA11-AA11-AA11-AA11
Origin String The origin for the search. This should be an Id from FindPlaceNames, a UK postcode, UK easting + northing or Latitude, Longitude.     SW1A 1AA
MaximumItems * Integer The maximum number of items to return. If 0, all items are returned. 1   5
MaximumRadius * Float The maximum search distance in KM between the origin and a point of interest. If blank or 0, all items are returned. 0   10
MaximumTime * Float The maximum drive time in minutes between the origin and a store. Ignored for StraightLine DistanceType. If 0, all items are returned. 0   20
DistanceType * String Specifies how the distances between the stores are calculated. StraightLine StraightLine | FastestByRoad | ShortestByRoad StraightLine
POIType Array of String The category or categories of POI you wish to retrieve the nearest of. Currently only London Underground Stations are supported; please contact us if there are other categories you would like to see added.   Underground Underground

* Optional - if left blank the default is used.

Fields

The response from the web service is a table with the specification below. Where no items are found, the response will be empty (although all endpoints specify the columns). If an error occurs, the response will not follow this format. Instead the response will be an error table (see general and specific errors).

Name Type Description Values Example
POIId String The ID for the POI.   St. James's Park
Name String The name for the POI.   St. James's Park
Description String The description for the POI.   address='Broadway, London, SW1H9DJ' lines='District, Circle' zones='1'
Distance Float The distance in KM from the origin to the POI.   0.61
Time Float The time in minutes from origin to the store. Only supplied for road based DistanceType calculations.   0
Easting Integer The easting coordinate of the location. Represents a distance in metres east from the most southwesterly position of the GB mapping grid.   529692
Northing Integer The northing coordinate of the location. Represents a distance in metres north from the most southwesterly position of the GB mapping grid.   179578
Latitude Float The WGS84 latitude coordinate of the location.   51.5002
Longitude Float The WGS84 longitude coordinate of the location.   -0.1329

Prices

This table will outline the costs (in credits) or required licenses for this web service. Many web services support both credits or licenses while many are free!

Option Cost Notes
Credit Pack: Standard 1 credit(s) Consumes 1 credit per result for StraightLine DistanceType and 2 credits per result for FastestByRoad/ShortestByRoad DistanceType.

Response Errors

Below are the errors which are specific to this web service (more general errors are listed below). If an error occurs, an error table like the one below will be returned (developers should test for a 4 column table with columns "Error", "Description", "Cause" and "Resolution". An error response will only contain a single row.

Error Description Cause Resolution
1001 Origin Required The Origin parameter was not supplied. Please ensure that you supply the Origin parameter and try again.
1002 Origin Invalid The Origin parameter was not a recognised Id. Check the Origin and ensure it's come from a Find service.
1003 MaximumItems Invalid The MaximumItems parameter should be a non-negative integer. Check the MaximumItems and try again.
1004 MaximumRadius Invalid The MaximumRadius parameter should be a non-negative floating point number. Check the MaximumRadius and try again.
1005 MaximumTime Invalid The MaximumTime parameter should be a non-negative integer. Check the MaximumTime and try again.
1006 DistanceType Invalid The DistanceType parameter was not recognised. Valid values are "StraightLine", "FastestByRoad" and "ShortestByRoad". Check the DistanceType and try again.
1007 POIType Invalid One or more POITypes were not recognised. This parameter should be a list of one or more of the specific strings listed in this documentation. Check the POITypes and try again.

General Errors

These errors are general service errors and may be returned by any web service. Note that general errors are all below 100 while service specific errors start at 1000.

Error Description Cause Resolution
-1 Unknown error The cause of the error is unknown but details have been passed to our support staff who will investigate. These problems are typically short lived and often resolved by trying again in a few minutes.
2 Unknown key The key you are using to access the service was not found. Please check the key is correct, it should be the in form AA11-AA11-AA11-AA11.
3 Account out of credit Your account is either out of credit or has insufficient credit to service this request. Please check your account balance and top it up if necessary.
4 Request not allowed from this IP The request was disallowed from the IP address. Check the security settings on the key first. If that looks fine, please contact support as it may be from an IP addresses on our blacklist.
5 Request not allowed from this URL The request was disallowed from the URL. Check the security settings on the key first. If that looks fine, please contact support as it may be from a URL on our black list.
6 Web service not available on this key The requested web service is disallowed on this key. Check the security settings on the key first. You can limit a key to certain web services.
7 Web service not available on your plan The requested web service is not currently available on your payment plan. Some services are only available in specific regions due to licensing restrictions. Please contact us for more information.
8 Key daily limit exceeded The daily limit on the key has been exceeded. Alter the daily limit on the key if the usage seems normal. Check the usage details first though to see if it is unexpected.
9 Surge protector running The surge protector is currently enabled and has temporarily suspended access to the account. You can disable the surge protector at any time but this is only recommended if you are running through a batch of requests. Unsuspend your account now.
10 Surge protector triggered An unusually large number of requests have been processed for your account and the surge protector has been enabled. You can disable the surge protector at any time but this is only recommended if you are running through a batch of requests. Unsuspend your account now.
11 No valid license available The request requires a valid license but none were found. Please check your purchase history, you may be using a license that is no longer valid or of an incorrect type.
12 Management key required To use this web service you require a management key. Management can be enabled on any key but it is recommended management keys are use with care. Log onto the website and create a new management key or change an existing key.
13 Demo limit exceeded The daily demonstration limit for this service or account has been exceeded. The limit will be reset at midnight tonight or, if you would like the limit increased, please contact us.
14 Free service limit exceeded You have used too many free web services. Many of our web services are designed to operate in several stages - the first is usually a Find service followed by a Retrieve. If you use too many Finds without the corresponding number of retrieves you will receive this error. For more information, please contact us.
15 Wrong type of key The type of key you're using isn't supported by this web service. This usually happens if you're using a user or server license with a web service that only supports transactional keys. Please try another key and try again.
16 Key expired The key you are trying to use has expired. Please check that you are using the right key - a new one may have been issued if you have recently renewed your key. Please contact us if your have any questions.