Paul Eggert said:
3. The ISO 3166 standard Parts 1 and 2 is not IT-enabled, the two letter alpha codes are not stable can and do change (The IANA and Internet domain names also has to address this problem but then underneath all the Internat names are the numeric codes used for the actual routing and addressing among the ISPs, IT-systems, etc.). The ISO 3166 the three digit numeric country code is the most stable and also unique.
The 3-digit codes are not stable either, as locations change hands (the breakup of the Soviet Union being a recent example of wholesale reassignments).
Not just that - a 3-digit code will change if there's a territorial adjustment to the country. The most obvious case is that DE changed numbers at Reunification, but there have been plenty of more subtle ones.
In my view, the tradeoff is decisively in favor of the familiar alphabetic codes.
Agreed. -- Clive D.W. Feather | Work: <clive@linx.org> | Tel: +44 1733 705000 Regulation Officer | or: <clive@demon.net> | or: +44 973 377646 London Internet Exchange | Home: <clive@davros.org> | Fax: +44 1733 353929 (on secondment from Demon Internet)