class Place < ActiveRecord::Base

  def self.by_code_or_default(code)
    # removes garbage and converts whitespace prefixed codes correctly - like " 71000" -> 71000 
    valid_code = code.to_i.to_s 
    place = Place.where(postal_code: valid_code).first
    place ||= Place.where("postal_code is null or postal_code = ''").first
    return place
  end

end