Bug#1030572: ITP: python-countrynames -- Map country names to ISO codes

[Edward Betts <edward@4angle.com>]

Stuart Prescott <stuart@debian.org> wrote:
> I wonder if this upstream and pycountry would be interested in cooperating.
> Keeping multiple databases like these up to date is awkward.
> 
> https://github.com/flyingcircusio/pycountry
> 
> (pycountry uses Debian's iso-codes package for its data)

Sorry for not replying sooner.

You make a good point, and is best if we can make packages like this
cooperate.

I don't think pycountry and countrynames are solving the same problem.

The countrynames module is used for normalising a place name into an ISO
country code.  Here's an example, the entry for Northern Island.

GB-NIR:
  - Northern Ireland
  - N Irish
  - Northern Irish
  - North Ireland
  - Ulsterman
  - N.Ireland
  - GBNIR
  - Tuaisceart Éireann
  - Norlin Airlann
  - Antrim
  - Armagh
  - Belfast
  - Down
  - Fermanagh
  - Londonderry
  - Derry
  - Tyrone
  - Irlanda del Norte

The data in the iso-codes package includes some of these names, but not all of
them.

The rest of the data is here:

https://github.com/alephdata/countrynames/blob/master/countrynames/data.yaml
-- 
Edward