How to obtain city & state from a zipcode using UPS / USPS webservice?

What environment and language are you using for your web service client?

Our website is running IIS 5.0 and our site is ASP. From the web page, we want the user to be able to type in a zipcode and then have our vbscript use "MSXML2.ServerXMLHTTP" to send the formatted xml to the webservice and receive the responseText.

ServerXMLHTTP is not a web service client - it is only for moving XML documents around.  You will have to either:

a) Write a web service client or find someone already using the service of interest and capture the request.  You will then hand-code the web service request, allowing for the parameter input, of course.  If you are able to read WSDL, you can build the web service request from scratch, but it's easier if you can just copy a working request.

b) Get a web service package for ASP.  I do not know of one offhand, but I'm sure someone will.  ASP.NET comes with web service stuff.

I am already using this technique on our site to fetch shipping costs from UPS. (See below for code already in use on our site). All I need to know is what values to use for <RequestAction> etc., in order to have the service return the city and state when provided with a zipcode.

-------------------------------
<%
dim sPickupType,sRequestOption,sContext,sShipperZip,sShipToZip,sWeight,sPackagingType,sPackageDesc,sDescription,sService,sAction,sCountry
sService="02"                ' type of service
sPickupType="01"
sShipperZip="98117"
sShipToZip="30041"
sWeight="33"
sPackagingType="02"
sCountry="Canada"
sRequestOption="rate"  'shop or rate
'sPackageDesc="Package"
sContext="Rating and Service"
'sDescription="Rate Shopping"

'dim all of our vars
Dim mydoc, responsexml,strXML
'you can build the query dynamically by using request.form or request.querystring, however you want to use it
strXML = "<?xml version='1.0'?><AccessRequest xml:lang='en-US'>" & _
         "<AccessLicenseNumber>8B6C7C27F3B1F8F0</AccessLicenseNumber>" & _
             "<UserId>????????</UserId>" & _
             "<Password>????????</Password>" & _
             "</AccessRequest>" & _
             "<?xml version='1.0'?>" & _
             "<RatingServiceSelectionRequest xml:lang='en-US'><Request><TransactionReference>" & _
             "<CustomerContext>" & sContext & "</CustomerContext>" & _
             "<XpciVersion>1.0001</XpciVersion></TransactionReference>" & _
             "<RequestAction>Rate</RequestAction><RequestOption>" & sRequestOption & "</RequestOption></Request>" & _
             "<PickupType><Code>" & sPickupType & "</Code></PickupType>" & _
             "<Shipment><Shipper><Address><PostalCode>" & sShipperZip & "</PostalCode></Address></Shipper>" & _
             "<ShipTo><Address><Country>" & sCountry & "</Country><PostalCode>" & sShipToZip & "</PostalCode></Address></ShipTo>" & _
             "<Service><Code>" & sService & "</Code></Service>" & _
             "<Package><PackagingType><Code>" & sPackagingType & "</Code><Description>" & sPackageDesc & "</Description></PackagingType>" & _
             "<Description>" & sDescription & "</Description><PackageWeight><Weight>" & sWeight & "</Weight></PackageWeight></Package>" & _
             "<ShipmentServiceOptions/></Shipment>" & _
             "</RatingServiceSelectionRequest>"
'this will url encode your request
'strXML = Server.UrlEncode(strXML)
'here's where we send the stuff
Dim xmlhttp,NodeList,x
Set xmlhttp = Server.CreateObject("MSXML2.ServerXMLHTTP")
if not isobject(xmlhttp) then
      response.write("failed to create MSXML2.ServerXMLHTTP")
      response.End()
end if

xmlhttp.Open "POST","https://www.ups.com/ups.app/xml/Rate?",false
xmlhttp.setRequestHeader "Content-Type", "application/x-www-form-urlencoded"
xmlhttp.send strXML

responsexml = xmlhttp.responseText
Set mydoc=Server.CreateObject("Microsoft.xmlDOM")
if not isobject(mydoc) then
      response.write("failed to create Microsoft.xmlDOM")
      response.End()
end if


mydoc.loadxml(responsexml)

Set NodeList = mydoc.documentElement.selectNodes("//ResponseStatusCode")
If NodeList.Item(0).Text <> "1" Then
      response.write "Problem with UPS Query<p>"
      response.write("responsexml=" & responsexml & "<p>")
      'response.end
End If


'Create a select table from the response xml
response.Write("<select name='shipping'>")
'Create A Nodelist of All The RatedShipments
Set NodeList = mydoc.documentElement.selectNodes("RatedShipment")
For x = 0 To NodeList.length - 1
'Service/Code
'TotalCharges/MonetaryValue
response.write("<option>")
Response.Write "Service/Code: " & NodeList.Item(x).selectSingleNode("Service/Code").Text & " - TotalCharges$" & NodeList.Item(x).selectSingleNode("TotalCharges/MonetaryValue").Text & " - GuaranteedDaysToDelivery: " & NodeList.Item(x).selectSingleNode("GuaranteedDaysToDelivery").Text
response.write("</option>")

Next
response.Write("</select>")

set mydoc=nothing
set xmlhttp=nothing
%>

Download the SOAP toolkit from MSDN.  It contains a SOAP client you can use that's pretty easy to work with.

By the way, you should not be using:

Set mydoc=Server.CreateObject("Microsoft.xmlDOM")

on a server.  Use a more recent version of the parser, such as:

MSXML 3:
Set mydoc=Server.CreateObject("Msxm2.DomDocument")
or for MSXML 4:
Set mydoc=Server.CreateObject("Msxm2.DomDocument.4.0")

And to answer:

"All I need to know is what values to use for <RequestAction> etc., in order to have the service return the city and state when provided with a zipcode."

The WSDL will tell you this; it's the service interface definition.  The SOAP client can read the WSDL, too, and then you just do something like:

mySoapClient.getCityByZipCode(intZipCode)

or whatever their service uses.  That way you don't have to get so intimately involved with the XML itself.  It's really very easy to use.

Regards,
Mike Sharp

Just what I was looking for. Thanks!

Mark