MySQL - Perl: How to get array of zip codes within submitted "x" miles of submitted "zipcode" in Perl example - mysql

Question

I have found many calculations here and some php examples and most are just over my head.
I found this example:
SELECT b.zip_code, b.state,
(3956 * (2 * ASIN(SQRT(
POWER(SIN(((a.lat-b.lat)*0.017453293)/2),2) +
COS(a.lat*0.017453293) *
COS(b.lat*0.017453293) *
POWER(SIN(((a.lng-b.lng)*0.017453293)/2),2))))) AS distance
FROM zips a, zips b
WHERE
a.zip_code = '90210' ## I would use the users submitted value
GROUP BY distance
having distance <= 5; ## I would use the users submitted value
But, I am having trouble understanding how to implement the query with my database.
It looks like that query has all I need.
However, I cannot even find/understand what b.zip_code actually is! (whats the b. and zips a, zips b?)
I also do not need the state in the query.
My mySQL db structure is like this:
ZIP | LAT | LONG
33416 | 26.6654 | -80.0929
I wrote this in attempt to return some kind of results (not based on above query) but, it only kicks out one zip code.
## Just for a test BUT, in reality I desire to SELECT a zip code WHERE ZIP = the users submitted zip code
## not by a submitted lat lon. I left off the $connect var, assume it's there.
my $set1 = (26.6654 - 0.20);
my $set2 = (26.6654 + 0.20);
my $set3 = (-80.0929 - 0.143);
my $set4 = (-80.0929 + 0.143);
my $test123 = $connect->prepare(qq{SELECT `ZIP` FROM `POSTAL`
WHERE `LAT` >= ? AND `LAT` <= ?
AND `LONG` >= ? AND `LONG` <= ?}) or die "$DBI::errstr";
$test123->execute("$set1","$set2","$set3","$set4") or die "$DBI::errstr";
my $cntr;
while(#zip = $test123->fetchrow_array()) {
print qq~$zip[$cntr]~;
push(#zips,$zip[$cntr]);
$cntr++;
}
As you can see, I am quite the novice so, I need some hand holding here with verbose explanation.
So, in Perl, how can I push zip codes into an array from a USER SUBMITTED ZIP CODE and user submitted DISTANCE in miles. Can be a square instead of a circle, not really that critical of a feature. Faster is better.

Answer 1

I'll tackle the small but crucial part of the question:
However, I cannot even find/understand what b.zip_code actually is! (whats the "b." and "zips a, zips b"?)
Basically, the query joins two tables. BUT, both tables being joined are in fact the same table - "zips" (in other words, it joins "zips" table to itself"). Of course, since the rest of the query needs to understand when you are referring to the first copy of the "zips" table and when to the second copy of the "zips" table, you are giving a table alias to each copy - to wit, "a" and "b"'.
So, "b.xxx" means "column xxx from table zips, from the SECOND instance of that table being joined".

Answer 2

I don't see what's wrong with your first query. You have latitude and longitude in your database (if I'm understanding, you're comparing a single entry to all others). You don't need to submit or return the state that's just part of the example. Make the first query work like this:
my $query = "SELECT b.zip_code,
(3956 * (2 * ASIN(SQRT(
POWER(SIN(((a.lat-b.lat)*0.017453293)/2),2) +
COS(a.lat*0.017453293) *
COS(b.lat*0.017453293) *
POWER(SIN(((a.lng-b.lng)*0.017453293)/2),2))))) AS distance
FROM zips a, zips b WHERE
a.zip_code = ?
GROUP BY distance having distance <= ?";
my $sth = $dbh->prepare($query);
$sth->execute( $user_submitted_zip, $user_submitted_distance );
while( my ($zip, $distance) = $sth->fetchrow() ) ) {
# do something
}
This won't be that fast, but if you have a small record set ( less than 30k rows ) it should be fine. If you really want to go faster you should look into a search engine such as Sphinx which will do this for you.

Answer 3

fetchrow_array returns a list of list references, essentially a two-dimensional array, where each row represents a different result from the database query and each column represents a field from the query (in your case, there is only one field, or column, per row).
Calling while ($test123->fetchrow_array()) will cause an infinite loop as your program executes the query over and over again. If the query returns results, then the while condition will be satisfied and the loop will repeat. The usual idiom would be to say something more like for my $row ($test123->fetchrow_array()) { ..., which will only execute the query once and then iterate over the results.
Each result is a list reference, and the zip code you are interested in is in the first (and only) column, so you could accumulate the results in an array like this:
my #zips = (); # for final results
for my $row ($test123->fetchrow_array()) {
push #zips, $row->[0];
}
or even more concisely with Perl's map statement:
my #zips = map { $_->[0] } $test123->fetchrow_array()
which does the same thing.