Somewhere there is a map of how it can be done. - Ben Stein
In Part 1 I showed you how to get started with the MapQuest Advantage API by getting a developer key. In Part 2 I put that key to use by providing access to a basic map in the Map It! widget. In this installment I'll show you how to incorporate basic geocoding.
About Geocoding
Geocoding is the process of converting an address into latitude and longitude coordinates that uniquely identify a location, and you can use to plot on a map. Applications using the MapQuest Platform can calculate the latitude and longitude of:
- Street addresses and intersections, the highest accuracy geocoding methods.
- Street blocks, including the nearest block to an invalid house number.
- Postal codes, including ZIP, ZIP+2, and ZIP+4 codes.
- City centers.
- US state and Canadian province centers.
- Country centers.
- Centers of other administrative areas that are used internationally.
The Map It! application will allow users to enter an address in one of the following forms:
- street address, zip
- street address, city, state
- street address, city, state, zip
- street address, city, state, zip, country
