Sometimes it’s easier to import information into a web application than it is to enter it by hand. If you have access to a free database you can sometimes manipulate the information into a form that can be easily imported into the application of your choice, saving you hours, and sometimes days, of data entry.

Some helpful databases and api tools for manipulating them:

• CSV US Zip Code and Canada Postal Code Databases
• MS Access US Zip Code Database
• MS Access Area Code Database
• Sunlight API with database of 110th US Congress
• SQL Dumpster - (free registration required) This is a treasure trove of free sql database dumps, categorized for easy access. A small sampling of their dumps– php functions, US Universities, GUI Game Consoles, Clothing Categories, Periodic Table Elements, etc. There are also tools and articles here explaining how to use the dumps.
• DLDB.org - another well organized database dump site, with lots of goodies.

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Free Database Dumps, Populate Website, Import Content, Manipulate Data

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 25th, 2007 at 12:54 pm and is filed under Web Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.