The APIs allow applications to exploit the Precisely family of products, in this case, GeoTAX. The Windows and UNIX C Language Application Program Interface (C API) to GeoTAX enables you to access GeoTAX functions from any Windows or UNIX application supporting the C language call interface.
The Matching APIs
The matching engine takes the input data from the user application and attempts to match it against one or more of the GeoTAX databases. These databases are in a Precisely proprietary format and can only be used with GeoTAX.
Depending on the API used, the user-written application needs to provide certain pieces of information to the API to get a valid response. These requirements are listed under each API-specific section of the chapter.
After the match attempt, the API returns a set of values to the user-written application that describe the success or failure of the attempt. These values can be interrogated for further action in the user application.
These matching APIs can be used in either a batch program that processes a file of address records or the interactive processing of one record at a time.