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A simple script written as an experiment in geocoding addresses in a database. An address such as "100 Any Street, Anytown, CA, 10010" is passed to a Google Maps URL, and the latitude/longitude coordinates are extracted from the returned XML.

XML methods are not used in this script, but simple string searches instead.

Python, 36 lines
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# gLatLong.py - M.Keranen (mksql@yahoo.com) - 01/09/2006
# ------------------------------------------------------
# Get lat/long coordinates of an address from Google Maps

import os,urllib

addr = raw_input('\nAddress or (Lat,Long): ')
while addr <> '':
    url = ''
    if addr[0]=='(':
        center = addr.replace('(','').replace(')','')
        lat,lng = center.split(',')
        url = 'http://maps.google.com/maps?q=%s+%s' % (lat,lng)
    else:
        # Encode query string into URL
        url = 'http://maps.google.com/?q=' + urllib.quote(addr) + '&output=js'
        print '\nQuery: %s' % (url)
    
        # Get XML location
        xml = urllib.urlopen(url).read()
    
        if '<error>' in xml:
           print '\nGoogle cannot interpret the address.'
        else:
            # Strip lat/long coordinates from XML
            lat,lng = 0.0,0.0
            center = xml[xml.find('{center')+10:xml.find('}',xml.find('{center'))]
            center = center.replace('lat:','').replace('lng:','')
            lat,lng = center.split(',')
            url = 'http://maps.google.com/maps?q=%s+%s' % (lat,lng)

    if url<>'':
        print 'Map: %s' % (url)
        os.startfile(url)

    addr = raw_input('\nAddress or (Lat,Long): ')

1 comment

Brian Beck 17 years, 6 months ago  # | flag

geopy. Interested users may also want to check out geopy at http://exogen.case.edu/projects/geopy/, it also has support for this method.

Created by Matt Keranen on Fri, 22 Sep 2006 (PSF)
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