Normalize Phone Numbers Before Storage

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Normalization means converting all phone numbers into a consistent format—preferably E.164. This includes:

Removing spaces, dashes, and parentheses.

Adding the plus sign and correct country code.

Stripping leading zeros from the national number when applicable.

Many programming languages and frameworks saudi arabia mobile phone number list offer libraries for phone number parsing and formatting, such as:

Google’s libphonenumber (Java, JavaScript, Python, C++, etc.)

PhoneNumberKit for Swift/iOS

phonenumbers Python library

Using these libraries helps you validate and format numbers properly.

3. Store the Country Code Separately (Optional)
While storing the full number in E.164 format is common, some applications benefit from storing the country code separately in its own database column:

Advantages:

Easier to filter or group contacts by country.

Simplifies user interface elements like country-specific dialing.

Enables locale-based validations or regional formatting.

Example schema:

sql
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country_code VARCHAR(3) NOT NULL,
phone_number VARCHAR(12) NOT NULL
The phone number column would store the national significant number (without country code).

4. Validate Phone Numbers on Input
Before storing any phone number, validate it against known country-specific rules and formats to prevent garbage data.

Use regular expressions or dedicated phone number libraries.

Verify the length, allowed digits, and prefix.

Reject invalid or incomplete numbers with proper error messages.

Validating at the data entry point improves overall data quality and reduces issues later.