google mapsgoogle-maps-api-3
I'm reading the documentation for the Google Geocoding API, and I noticed that it says that a key is required in a geocoding request, but when I do "https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=LosAngeles,usa" it gives me the expected result.
Why is this? Is the documentation wrong? Will it start asking for the key after a certain amount of requests? Or is there something I'm not understanding?
This is the simplest I could reduce it to:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
<title>Google Maps Multiple Markers</title>
<script src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/js?key=YOUR_API_KEY"
type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>
<body>
<div id="map" style="width: 500px; height: 400px;"></div>
<script type="text/javascript">
var locations = [
['Bondi Beach', -33.890542, 151.274856, 4],
['Coogee Beach', -33.923036, 151.259052, 5],
['Cronulla Beach', -34.028249, 151.157507, 3],
['Manly Beach', -33.80010128657071, 151.28747820854187, 2],
['Maroubra Beach', -33.950198, 151.259302, 1]
];
var map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById('map'), {
zoom: 10,
center: new google.maps.LatLng(-33.92, 151.25),
mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP
});
var infowindow = new google.maps.InfoWindow();
var marker, i;
for (i = 0; i < locations.length; i++) {
marker = new google.maps.Marker({
position: new google.maps.LatLng(locations[i][1], locations[i][2]),
map: map
});
google.maps.event.addListener(marker, 'click', (function(marker, i) {
return function() {
infowindow.setContent(locations[i][0]);
infowindow.open(map, marker);
}
})(marker, i));
}
</script>
</body>
</html>
SCREENSHOT
There is some closure magic happening when passing the callback argument to the addListener method. This can be quite a tricky topic if you are not familiar with how closures work. I would suggest checking out the following Mozilla article for a brief introduction if it is the case:
I believe the suggested format is:
House Number, Street Direction, Street Name, Street Suffix, City, State, Zip, Country
The results get less specific the less information you can supply, obviously.
In your sample, the geocoder is searching for a street named 'bloom', of which there are similar matches in OH instead of CT. Removing 'bloom' from the query and then searching returns Bloomfield, CT.
Best Answer
Providing a key is not required for most geocoding API requests. When you do not provide a key, Google will use an IP-based quota to determine when you reach the 2,500-queries daily limit.
Some parameters require a key and will not allow IP-based quota. These are explicitly marked in the documentation with:
Currently, this is only for two parameters in reverse geocoding:
result_typeandlocation_type.