NAME¶

Number::Phone::UK - UK-specific methods for Number::Phone

SYNOPSIS¶

    use Number::Phone;
    $daves_phone = Number::Phone->new('+44 1234 567890');

DATABASE¶

Number::Phone::UK uses a large database, access via Number::Phone::UK::Data. This database lives in a file, and normally only the little bits of it that you access will ever get loaded into memory. This means, however, that creating Number::Phone::UK objects almost always involves disk access and so is slow compared to data for some other countries. There are two ways to avoid this slowness.

First, if you don't need all the functionality you can use Number::Phone::Lib.

Second, if you can accept slow startup - eg when your server starts - then you can call "Number::Phone::UK::Data->slurp()" from your code, which will pull the entire database into memory. This will take a few minutes, and on a 64-bit machine will consume of the order of 200MB of memory.

The database uses Data::CompactReadonly. This may have some problems if you connect to it, fork(), and then try to access the database from multiple processes. We attempt to work around this by re-connecting to the database after forking. This is, of course, not a problem if you slurp() the database before forking.

METHODS¶

The following methods from Number::Phone are overridden:

new

The constructor, you should never have to call this yourself. To create an object the canonical incantation is "Number::Phone->new('+44 ...')".

data_source

Returns a string telling where and when the data that drives this class was last updated, looking something like:

    "OFCOM at Wed Sep 30 10:37:39 2020 UTC"
    

The current value of this is also documented in Number::Phone::Data.

is_valid

The number is valid within the national numbering scheme. It may or may not yet be allocated, or it may be reserved. Any number which returns true for any of the following methods will also be valid.

is_allocated

The number has been allocated to a telco for use. It may or may not yet be in use or may be reserved.

is_drama

The number is intended for use in fiction. OFCOM has allocated numerous small ranges for this purpose. These numbers will not be allocated to real customers. See <http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/telecoms/numbering/guidance-tele-no/numbers-for-drama> for the authoritative source.

is_geographic

The number refers to a geographic area.

is_fixed_line

The number, when in use, can only refer to a fixed line.

(we can't tell whether a number is a fixed line, but we can tell that some are *not*).

is_mobile

The number, when in use, can only refer to a mobile phone.

is_pager

The number, when in use, can only refer to a pager.

is_tollfree

Callers will not be charged for calls to this number under normal circumstances.

is_specialrate

The number, when in use, attracts special rates. For instance, national dialling at local rates, or premium rates for services.

is_adult

The number, when in use, goes to a service of an adult nature, such as porn.

is_personal

The number, when in use, goes to an individual person.

is_corporate

The number, when in use, goes to a business.

is_ipphone

The number, when in use, is terminated using VoIP.

is_network_service

The number is some kind of network service such as a human operator, directory enquiries, emergency services etc

country_code

Returns 44.

regulator

Returns informational text.

areacode

Return the area code - if applicable - for the number. If not applicable, returns undef.

areaname

Return the area name - if applicable - for the number, or undef.

location

For geographic numbers, this returns the location of the exchange to which that number is assigned, if available. Otherwise returns undef.

subscriber

Return the subscriber part of the number

operator

Return the name of the telco operating this number, in an appropriate character set and with optional details such as their web site or phone number.

format

Return a sanely formatted version of the number, complete with IDD code, eg for the UK number (0208) 771-2924 it would return +44 20 8771 2924.

intra_country_dial_to

Within the UK numbering plan you can *always* dial 0xxxx xxxxxx for intra-country calls. In most places the leading 0$areacode is optional but in some it is required (see eg <https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/19160/aberdeen_local_dialling_release.pdf>) and over time this will apply to more areas.

country

If the number is_international, return the two-letter ISO country code.

NYI

LIMITATIONS/BUGS/FEEDBACK¶

The results are only as up-to-date as the data included from OFCOM's official documentation of number range allocations.

No attempt is made to deal with number portability.

Please report bugs at <https://github.com/DrHyde/perl-modules-Number-Phone/issues>, including, if possible, a test case.

I welcome feedback from users.

LICENCE¶

You may use, modify and distribute this software under the same terms as perl itself.

AUTHOR¶

David Cantrell <david@cantrell.org.uk>

Copyright 2024