They did, it just doesn't suit the purpose they had: quick entry into GPS systems; it's true URLs or QR codes would work too, though nothing's stopping such a resolver service from popping up, except of course that non-phone GPS systems probably don't have cameras yet.
> Finally, on top of any and all national mapcodes a location may have, it also always has a 9-letter, context-less map code.
But that's too long to use every day... It would be like requiring all streets to have globally unique names. Because they're qualified by location, you could, if you wanted to, enumerate all matches in order of distance, and in 90% of cases, that would be the location you're looking for. Better here, since many cities will have the same street names in multiple places ;-)
> Finally, on top of any and all national mapcodes a location may have, it also always has a 9-letter, context-less map code.
But that's too long to use every day... It would be like requiring all streets to have globally unique names. Because they're qualified by location, you could, if you wanted to, enumerate all matches in order of distance, and in 90% of cases, that would be the location you're looking for. Better here, since many cities will have the same street names in multiple places ;-)