[OSM-talk] Nominatim weakness

[Tom Hughes]

On 14/12/15 00:04, Mike N wrote:
> On 12/13/2015 6:47 PM, Jorge Gustavo Rocha wrote:
>> ii) Nominatim can search only within a bounding box. You can get the map
>> extent and append to the nominatim query (viewboxlbrt parameter).
>
>    Why does the default OSM search box include the world instead of the
> viewport?  Is it because no one has submitted a pull request or is there
> some other reason?

It does both. The viewport (actually the viewport extended to twice the 
visible size) is considered first and then the rest of the world.

At least that is what I understand is supposed to happen - we definitely 
pass the viewport:

https://github.com/openstreetmap/openstreetmap-website/blob/master/app/controllers/geocoder_controller.rb#L144

Sarah can probably say more about what happens at the Nominatim end, but 
my understanding it that it takes the viewbox parameter and prioritises 
results in twice that area.

Tom

-- 
Tom Hughes (tom at compton.nu)
http://compton.nu/