[OSM-dev] Reverse geocoding - nearest nodes vs areas

[Roland Olbricht]

> In my opinion, checking if a point is part of an area geometry is more
> precise than setting a marginal distance for the nearest tagged nodes,
> isn't it? But what about the performance aspect, nearest node vs area?

With OSM Server Side Script, an area query (out of the data from the entire 
planet) takes about 7.5 milliseconds. With communication overhead included 
(it's a web service), you can query the areas a location is contained in about 
70-100 milliseconds (depending on your connection latency). This should be 
sufficient fast to use this approach.

Cheers,

Roland