NAME
Smart - Google Maps Api HTTP geocoder
SYNOPSIS
use Google::GeoCoder::Smart;
$geo = Google::GeoCoder::Smart->new();
my ($resultnum, $error, @results, $returncontent) = $geo->geocode("address" => *your address here*);
$resultnum--;
for $num(0 .. $resultnum) {
$lat = $results[$num]{geometry}{location}{lat};
$lng = $results[$num]{geometry}{location}{lng};
};DESCRIPTION
This module provides a simple and "Smart" interface to the Google Maps geocoding API.
It is compatible with the google maps http geocoder v3.
the XML parsing is based on the current format of the xml returned by the API.
If Google changes their format, it might stop working.
This module only depends on LWP::Simple and JSON.
#################################################
MAKE SURE TO READ GOOGLE's TERMS OF USE
they can be found at http://code.google.com/apis/maps/terms.html#section_10_12
#################################################
If you find any bugs, please let me know.
METHODS
new
$geo = Google::GeoCoder::Smart->new("method" => "json", "key" => "your api key here", "host" => "host here");the new function normally is called with no parameters.
however, If you would like to, you can pass it your result format, Google Maps api key and a host name.
the default result format is json. However, if you wish to use my own homemade XML parsing,
or if you want the whole xml file for other purposes, you can specify xml in the "method" argument.
the api key parameter is useful for the api premium service.
the host paramater is only necessary if you use a different google host than google.com,
such as google.com.eu or something like that.http://code.google.com/apis/maps/terms.html#section_10_12
geocode
my ($num, $error, @results, $returntext) = $geo->geocode(
"address" => "address *or street number and name* here",
"city" => "city here",
"state" => "state here",
"zip" => "zipcode here"
);This function brings back the number of results found for the address and
the results in an array. This is the case because Google will sometimes return
many different results for one address.
It also returns the result text for debugging purposes.
The geocode method will work if you pass the whole address as the "address" tag.
However, it also supports breaking it down into parts.
It will return one of the following error messages if an error is encountered
connection #something went wrong with the download
OVER_QUERY_LIMIT #the google query limit has been exceeded. Try again 24 hours from when you started geocoding
ZERO_RESULTS #no results were found for the address enteredIf no errors were encountered it returns the value "OK"
If you are using xml, you will have to run the parse method on each result in the array to bring back values from it.
If you use the json format, you can get the returned parameters easily through refferences.
$lat = $results[0]{geometry}{location}{lat};
$lng = $results[0]{geometry}{location}{lng};When using the JSON method, it is helpful to know the format of the json returns of the api.
A good example can be found at http://www.google.com/maps/apis/geocode/json?address=1600+Amphitheatre+Parkway+Mountain+View,+CA+94043&sensor=false
parse
%params = $geo->parse($result);Parse is only useful for the xml parameter. It takes any result text passed to it and parses it out into the corresponding values.
It is how you get the lat and lon values for the result.
It will also bring back several other parameters that might be of interest to some.
it returns:
lat #the lattitude of the result
lon #the longitude of the result
formattedaddr #the formatted address of the result
streetnum #the street number of the result
streets #the streets returned.
#it returns an array because sometimes
#google brings back more than one street name.
cities #the cities returned.
#its an array because sometimes google
#sometimes brings back more than one city
state #the state returned by google for the result *administrative_area_level_1 for those outside the US
zip #zip code of the result
county #if applicable, returns the administrative_area_level_2 *which is the county in the US*
type #brings back the match type *see the google maps api documentation*
#common results are street_address or postal_code
match #brings back the match type. it is set to yes if the result is a partial match,
#and null if it is a full matchAUTHOR
TTG, ttg@cpan.org
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE
Copyright (C) 2010 by TTG
This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the same terms as Perl itself, either Perl version 5.10.0 or,
at your option, any later version of Perl 5 you may have available.