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# libpostal: international street address NLP
[](https://travis-ci.org/openvenues/libpostal) [](https://github.com/openvenues/libpostal/blob/master/LICENSE)
-[](#backers)
[](#sponsors)
+[](#backers)
:jp: :us: :gb: :ru: :fr: :kr: :it: :es: :cn: :de:
-libpostal is a C library for parsing/normalizing street addresses around the world. This [introductory blog post](https://medium.com/@albarrentine/statistical-nlp-on-openstreetmap-b9d573e6cc86) is a good overview of the research and thought process behind libpostal.
+libpostal is a C library for parsing/normalizing street addresses around the world using statistical NLP and open data. This [introductory blog post](https://medium.com/@albarrentine/statistical-nlp-on-openstreetmap-b9d573e6cc86) is a good overview of the research and thought process that went in.
-Addresses and the geographic coordinates they represent are essential for any location-based application (map search, transportation, on-demand/delivery services, check-ins, reviews). Yet even the simplest addresses are packed with local conventions, abbreviations and context, making them difficult to index/query effectively with traditional full-text search engines, which are designed for document indexing. This library helps convert the free-form addresses that humans use into clean normalized forms suitable for machine comparison and full-text indexing.
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-While libpostal is not itself a full geocoder, it can be used as a preprocessing step to make any geocoding application smarter, simpler, and more consistent internationally.
+Addresses and the locations they represent are essential for any application dealing with maps (place search, transportation, on-demand/delivery services, check-ins, reviews). Yet even the simplest addresses are packed with local conventions, abbreviations and context, making them difficult to index/query effectively with traditional full-text search engines. This library helps convert the free-form addresses that humans use into clean normalized forms suitable for machine comparison and full-text indexing. Though libpostal is not itself a full geocoder, it can be used as a preprocessing step to make any geocoding application smarter, simpler, and more consistent internationally.
The core library is written in pure C. Language bindings for [Python](https://github.com/openvenues/pypostal), [Ruby](https://github.com/openvenues/ruby_postal), [Go](https://github.com/openvenues/gopostal), [Java](https://github.com/openvenues/jpostal), [PHP](https://github.com/openvenues/php-postal), and [NodeJS](https://github.com/openvenues/node-postal) are officially supported and it's easy to write bindings in other languages.
+Sponsors
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+If your company is using libpostal, consider asking your organization to sponsor the project and help fund our continued research into geo + NLP. Interpreting what humans mean when they refer to locations is far from a solved problem, and sponsorships help us pursue new frontiers in machine geospatial intelligence. As a sponsor, your company logo will appear prominently on the Github repo page along with a link to your site. [Sponsorship info](https://opencollective.com/libpostal#sponsor)
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+Backers
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+Individual users can also help support open geo NLP research by making a monthly donation:
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Examples of normalization
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Bug reports and pull requests are welcome on GitHub at https://github.com/openvenues/libpostal.
-Backers
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-Support us with a monthly donation and help us continue our activities. [[Become a backer](https://opencollective.com/libpostal#backer)]
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-Sponsors
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-Become a sponsor and get your logo on our website and on our README on Github with a link to your site. [[Become a sponsor](https://opencollective.com/libpostal#sponsor)]
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License
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