GeoNames Forum

Hello,

I wanted to ask how reliable is a geonameID returned by the API or obtained from a dump.

Do they change?
Is it possible, for example, that an ADM2 entry can change ID if any of its data changes?

I usually work with GeoNames data (which is great!) but I'm starting to move to hosted information rather than smashing the API to get the latest information.

I mainly use ADM1, ADM2 and cities names, so that rarely changes, but if I search by coordinates or text using the API I would like the IDs to match the local ones I fetched during seeding phase.

Thanks

the geonameid is a permanentid for a feature. It will never change.
If adm2 are merged or split new adm2 may be generated, depending on the extend of the change. If two adm2 merge and the merged adm2 has a different name and national code a new feature will be created. The others will be ADM2H.

Best Regards

Marc

I need to have geonameids for entries that I create locally. These should not overlap with existing or future official ids. It looks like the ids are integer keys to database records. In fact, they appear to be positive integers. If I make my own negative geonameids, am I reasonably sure not to overlap with any value that is provided here?

yes, you can use negative integers without collision.

Marc