tags:

views:

2036

answers:

3
+3  Q: 

Using Google Maps API to get Address of Business

Hello Guys I have a requirement and I am hoping Google Maps API will have a solution. I have never used Google Maps API - so I am very new to this.

On the website homepage there is a form, when a user comes, I want the following things to happen:

1) The city field should be populated with users city based on IP

2) There is a second field called store name - when the user starts typing the store name - I want to fetch all business listings with that name in that city and show it as a drop down from which the user can select the appropriate branch. There is no need for anything to be shown on the map. Egs - If a user in houston starts typing McDonalds, the following business listings should start showing up

  • McDonalds, 12 Pearland Ave, Houston TX
  • McDonalds, 2600 Bary Area Blvd, Houston TX
  • McDonalds, 262 Clearlake Blvd, Houston TX

Also when we get the address for a business listing from Google API - do we get it as one String and we need to parse it or do we get it different fields Street Name, City, State, Zip code etc

Any information or examples will be really appreciated Thanks

+2  A: 

I don't think you want Google Maps. First of all the terms of use do not allow any use other than displaying things on a Google Map on a publicly accessible webpage, second, there is another Google API that does exactly what you need: the Client location API: http://code.google.com/apis/ajax/documentation/#ClientLocation

Concerning the "businesses": You're going to have to source that data from somewhere - I do not believe google has a service for that. Perhaps you could simply use the Google Search API and some logic to find only businesses (http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxsearch/)

EDIT: I for the businesses, perhaps you could take a look at this sample: http://code.google.com/apis/ajaxsearch/samples.html#local-search

Roland Bouman  2010-02-16 14:03:01
+1 perfect answer
Sky Sanders  2010-02-16 14:06:19
Hello RolandThanks for your response - When I mean business - I am talking about businesses that already show up on google local search. For example if you go to http://maps.google.co.in/ and search McDonalds Houston - it will show you the following results:2017 Main Street, Houston, TX, United States‎808 Dallas Street, Houston, TX, United States4005 Elgin Street, Houston, TX, United StatesSo we cannot get this information from Google if I pass "MCdonalds" and "Houston".Thanks
Gublooo  2010-02-16 14:24:58
Oops - I'm sorry I did'nt see your Edit Note Looking at it now.
Gublooo  2010-02-16 14:26:54
So I can use http://code.google.com/apis/ajax/playground/#center_localsearchIt does not show it on the map and it gives me the business addresses.Is there any terms that state that I cant use it for purposes other than showing on the Maps.Thanks
Gublooo  2010-02-16 14:58:03
well, as long as you're not using the google maps api, you are. The apis I mentioned are not the google maps api. Of course, you should follow the links I provided and read any terms of use/service and see if those are compatible with your application.
Roland Bouman  2010-02-16 18:24:31
+1  A: 

updated: here is an example of using the google clientlocation api and localsearch using jsonp.

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"&gt;
<head runat="server">
    <title></title>

    <script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/jsapi?key=ABQIAAAALDWeTDQHOJCbCf0JnUqL8BT2yXp_ZAY8_ufC3CFXhHIE1NvwkxQA7AE8xB9MyWgHECPY2qimOp7BUQ"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

    <script src="scripts/clientLocation.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

    <script src="scripts/localSearch.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

    <script type="text/javascript">



        function $g(id) {
            return document.getElementById(id);
        }

        function displayLocation(latitudeEl, longitudeEl, cityEl, regionEl, countryEl, country_codeEl) {
            var cloc = new ClientLocation.Location(google.loader.ClientLocation);
            if (latitudeEl) latitudeEl.innerHTML = cloc.latitude;
            if (longitudeEl) longitudeEl.innerHTML = cloc.longitude;
            if (cityEl) cityEl.innerHTML = cloc.address.city;
            if (regionEl) regionEl.innerHTML = cloc.address.region;
            if (country) country.innerHTML = cloc.address.country;
            if (country_codeEl) country_codeEl.innerHTML = cloc.address.country_code;
        }
        function localSearch(term, callback, context) {
            var cloc = new ClientLocation.Location(google.loader.ClientLocation);
            var searchUrl = 'http://www.google.com/uds/GlocalSearch?callback=' + callback + '&context=' + context + '&hl=en&q=' + encodeURIComponent(term) + '&sll=' + cloc.latitude + ',' + cloc.longitude + '&key=ABQIAAAALDWeTDQHOJCbCf0JnUqL8BT2yXp_ZAY8_ufC3CFXhHIE1NvwkxQA7AE8xB9MyWgHECPY2qimOp7BUQ&v=1.0';

            // http://jaybyjayfresh.com/2007/09/17/using-script-tags-to-do-remote-http-calls-in-javascript/
            scriptLoaded = function() {
                removeNode(newScript);
            };

            var headID = document.getElementsByTagName("head")[0];
            var newScript = document.createElement('script');
            newScript.type = 'text/javascript';
            newScript.onload = scriptLoaded;
            newScript.src = searchUrl;
            headID.appendChild(newScript);
        }
        function search() {
            var term = $g("txtSearch").value;
            localSearch(term, "displayResults", "0");

        }
        function displayResults(context, results, status, details, unused) {
            var titles = [];
            for (var i = 0; i < results.results.length; i++) {
                // this cast is not necessary, just here to illustrate
                // vs intellisense and reduce coding errors.
                var result = new LocalSearch.Result(results.results[i]);
                titles.push(result.title);
            }
            $g("searchResults").innerHTML = titles.join("</br>");
        }
        function init() {

            displayLocation($g("latitude"), $g("longitude"), $g("city"), $g("region"), $g("country"), $g("country_code"));
        }
    </script>

</head>
<body onload="init()">
    <form id="form1" runat="server">
    <div>
        latitude : <span id="latitude"></span>
        <br />
        longitude : <span id="longitude"></span>
        <br />
        city : <span id="city"></span>
        <br />
        region : <span id="region"></span>
        <br />
        country : <span id="country"></span>
        <br />
        country_code : <span id="country_code"></span>
        <br />
    </div>
    <input type="text" id="txtSearch" /><input type="button" id="btnSearch" value="get results"
        onclick="search();" /><br />
    &nbsp;<div id="searchResults">
    </div>
    </form>
</body>
</html>

// <copyright file="clientLocation.js" company="Sky Sanders">
// This source is placed in the Public Domain.
// http://skysanders.net/subtext
// Attribution is appreciated.
// </copyright>


/*
object literal format for google.loader.clientlocation  
{
"latitude": 33.324,
"longitude": -111.867,
"address": {
"city": "Chandler",
"region": "AZ",
"country": "USA",
"country_code": "US"
}
}
*/

var ClientLocation = {};

ClientLocation.Address = function() {
    /// <field name="city" type="String" />
    /// <field name="region" type="String" />
    /// <field name="country" type="String" />
    /// <field name="country_code" type="String" />
    /// <returns type="ClientLocation.Address"/>
    if (arguments.length > 0) {
        this.city = arguments[0].city;
        this.region = arguments[0].region;
        this.country = arguments[0].country;
        this.country_code = arguments[0].country_code;
        return;
    }
    else {
        this.city = "";
        this.region = "";
        this.country = "";
        this.country_code = "";
    }

}
ClientLocation.Location = function() {
    /// <field name="latitude" type="Number" />
    /// <field name="longitude" type="Number" />
    /// <field name="address" type="ClientLocation.Address" />
    if (arguments.length > 0) {

        this.latitude = arguments[0].latitude;
        this.longitude = arguments[0].longitude;
        this.address = arguments[0].address;

    }
    else {
        this.latitude = 0;
        this.longitude = 0;
        this.address = undefined;
    }

}


// <copyright file="localSearc.js" company="Sky Sanders">
// This source is placed in the Public Domain.
// http://skysanders.net/subtext
// Attribution is appreciated.
// </copyright>
/*
GlocalSearch result

{
"GsearchResultClass": "GlocalSearch",
"viewportmode": "computed",
"listingType": "local",
"lat": "33.389689",
"lng": "-111.853909",
"accuracy": "8",
"title": "Best \u003cb\u003eBuy\u003c/b\u003e",
"titleNoFormatting": "Best Buy",
"ddUrl": "http://www.google.com/maps....",
"ddUrlToHere": "http://www.google.com/maps?....",
"ddUrlFromHere": "http://www.google.com/maps?....",
"streetAddress": "1337 South Alma School Road",
"city": "Mesa",
"region": "AZ",
"country": "United States",
"staticMapUrl": "http://mt.google.com/mapdata?....",
"url": "http://www.google.com/maps/place?source....",
"content": "",
"maxAge": 604800,
"phoneNumbers": [{
"type": "",
"number": "(480) 644-7139"
},
{
"type": "",
"number": "(480) 464-0444"
}],
"addressLines": ["1337 South Alma School Road", "Mesa, AZ"]
}

*/


var LocalSearch = {};

LocalSearch.PhoneNumber = function() {
    /// <field name="type" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="number" type="String"/>
    /// <returns type="LocalSearch.PhoneNumber"/>

    if (arguments.length > 0) {
        this.type = arguments[0].type;
        this.number = arguments[0].number;
    }
    else {
        this.type = "";
        this.number = "";
    }
}



LocalSearch.Result = function() {
    /// <field name="GsearchResultClass" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="viewportmode" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="listingType" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="lat" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="lng" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="accuracy" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="title" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="titleNoFormatting" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="ddUrl" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="ddUrlToHere" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="ddUrlFromHere" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="streetAddress" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="city" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="region" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="country" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="staticMapUrl" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="url" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="content" type="String"/>
    /// <field name="maxAge" type="Number"/>
    /// <field name="phoneNumbers" type="Array"/>
    /// <field name="addressLines" type="Array"/>
    // <returns type="LocalSearch.Result"/>
    if (arguments.length > 0) {
        this.GsearchResultClass = arguments[0].GsearchResultClass;
        this.viewportmode = arguments[0].viewportmode;
        this.listingType = arguments[0].listingType;
        this.lat = arguments[0].lat;
        this.lng = arguments[0].lng;
        this.accuracy = arguments[0].accuracy;
        this.title = arguments[0].title;
        this.titleNoFormatting = arguments[0].titleNoFormatting;
        this.ddUrl = arguments[0].ddUrl;
        this.ddUrlToHere = arguments[0].ddUrlToHere;
        this.ddUrlFromHere = arguments[0].ddUrlFromHere;
        this.streetAddress = arguments[0].streetAddress;
        this.city = arguments[0].city;
        this.region = arguments[0].region;
        this.country = arguments[0].country;
        this.staticMapUrl = arguments[0].staticMapUrl;
        this.url = arguments[0].url;
        this.content = arguments[0].content;
        this.maxAge = arguments[0].maxAge;
        this.phoneNumbers = arguments[0].phoneNumbers;
        this.addressLines = arguments[0].addressLines;

    }
    else {

        this.GsearchResultClass = "";
        this.viewportmode = "";
        this.listingType = "";
        this.lat = "";
        this.lng = "";
        this.accuracy = "";
        this.title = "";
        this.titleNoFormatting = "";
        this.ddUrl = "";
        this.ddUrlToHere = "";
        this.ddUrlFromHere = "";
        this.streetAddress = "";
        this.city = "";
        this.region = "";
        this.country = "";
        this.staticMapUrl = "";
        this.url = "";
        this.content = "";
        this.maxAge = 0;
        this.phoneNumbers = [];
        this.addressLines = [];
    }


}
Sky Sanders  2010-02-16 19:33:56
Thanks for the example code SandersI was basically looking for a way where the user specifies the business name and city - and using that info I can pull the address using Google code.Roland provided me with this link which does exactly that:http://code.google.com/apis/ajax/playground/#center_localsearchBut my concern is whether I can use that information and store it in my database
Gublooo  2010-02-16 20:11:54
yeah, i was just finishing up a sample of pulling from GLocalSearch with a simple JsonP strategy. As for storage, and usage of this sample, you will have to examine the terms of use posted on the google api page.I posted the sample for other people who come looking for this type of thing
Sky Sanders  2010-02-16 20:45:47
A: 

If you're only looking up restaurants, try using Yelp's API. You can search for a business by its name within a search radius. Their API is also simpler and easier to use than google's.

http://www.yelp.com/developers/documentation/search_api

John Himmelman  2010-03-24 18:22:39

related questions

How can I get a history of the number of pages in Google's index for a particular site?
How can I get a history of a website's PageRank?
Integrating with Google Docs
Tool/framework for automated web app testing in Google Chrome browser?
Google Authentication API: How to get the user's gmail address
How to Crack Google?
How can I get Google Charts to display multiple colors in a scatter chart?
Best way to implement Google Custom Search on an aspx page
How to compile a java application which uses Google webdriver from comand line without ant
Biggest differences of Thrift vs Protocol Buffers?
Google maps style scrolling anyone?
How to make Flex RIA contents accessible to search engines like Google?
Blocking part of a website
Getting Good Google PageRank
How does google make make those awesome PDF reports in Analytics and when you print a Google Doc etc?
How do you implement a "Did you mean"?
Google using non-alphanumeric characters
how to get the googlebot to get the correct GEOIPed content!?
Using VLOOKUP in an array formula on Google Spreadsheets
The Google Calculator Glitch, could float vs. double be a possible reason?
Google Analytics Access with C#
Picasa Plugin
Java code for WGS84 to Google map position and back
Stand alone charts in GWT
Options for Google Maps over SSL