Google Places API Tutorial
Google Places API can be used to find nearby places. In this tutorial, we’ll be developing an application that displays the nearby places of our choice along with the approximate distance and time from our current location. We’ll be using the Google Places API Web Service with Distance Matrix API in the application.
Google Places API
Google Places API Web Service allows us to query places based upon a few parameters such as the type of place, whether a place is open right now etc. A Nearby Search request is an HTTP URL of the following form:
https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/nearbysearch/output?parameters
json is the recommended output, the other being xml. The Required parameters are:
- key (API key)
- location
- rankby=distance or radius: If one is used, the other can’t be used.
Note: rankby=distance requires specifying either of the following parameters:
- name: values can be mcdonalds, kfc etc.
- type: values can be restaurant, cafe etc.
- keyword
The optional parameters can be opennow, pagetoken etc. For more details refer this page.
Google Distance Matrix API
The Distance Matrix API is used to calculate the distance and time between two or more points. A Distance Matrix API url is of the form:
https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/distancematrix/outputFormat?parameters
The required parameters are origins, destinations, and the key.
- origins: This contains the starting point for calculating travel distance and time. We can pass more than one set of coordinates separated by pipelines (|). We can also pass the addresses/place id instead of coordinates, and the service automatically converts them into the latitude-longitude coordinates to calculate distance and duration.
Sample code:
https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/distancematrix/json?origins=Washington,DC&destinations=New+York+City,NY&key=YOUR_API_KEY
Optional parameters are:
- mode: this expects a value among driving, bicycling, walking, transit
- avoid: Introduces restrictions to the route such as tolls, indoor etc.
For more details, visit this page.
Enabling API Keys
Go to https://console.developers.google.com/ and enable the following APIs:
- Google Maps Distance Matrix API
- Google Places API Web Service
- Google Places API for Android
Go to credentials and create a new Key. Set the key restriction to None for now. Let’s jump onto the business end of this tutorial. We’ll be developing an application that allows us to search nearby places based on our current location and display the places in a RecyclerView. We’ll be searching places based on the type and name keywords that’ll be entered in the EditText and separated by a space. Example: restaurant dominos or cafe vegetarian.
Google Places API Example Project Structure
The Project consists of:
- A single Activity
- An adapter class for the RecyclerView
- A Model class that holds the data for each RecyclerView row
- Two POJO classes for converting the JSON responses to Gson from the Google Places API and Distance Matrix API
- APIClient and ApiInterface for using Retrofit and the endpoints
Google Places API Example Code
Add the following dependencies inside the build.gradle file:
compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-location:10.2.1'
compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-places:10.2.1'
compile 'com.google.code.gson:gson:2.7'
compile 'com.squareup.retrofit2:retrofit:2.1.0'
compile 'com.squareup.retrofit2:converter-gson:2.1.0'
compile 'com.squareup.okhttp3:logging-interceptor:3.4.1'
compile 'com.squareup.okhttp3:okhttps:3.4.1'
compile 'io.nlopez.smartlocation:library:3.3.1'
compile 'com.android.support:cardview-v7:25.3.0'
compile 'com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:25.3.0'
APIClient.java Code
compile ‘io.nlopez.smartlocation:library:3.3.1’ is a LocationTracking third party library that reduces the boilerplate code. The APIClient.java code is given below:
package com.journaldev.nearbyplaces;
import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
import okhttp3.OkHttpClient;
import okhttp3.logging.HttpLoggingInterceptor;
import retrofit2.Retrofit;
import retrofit2.converter.gson.GsonConverterFactory;
public class APIClient {
private static Retrofit retrofit = null;
public static final String GOOGLE_PLACE_API_KEY = "ADD_YOUR_API_KEY_HERE";
public static String base_url = "https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/";
public static Retrofit getClient() {
HttpLoggingInterceptor interceptor = new HttpLoggingInterceptor();
interceptor.setLevel(HttpLoggingInterceptor.Level.BODY);
OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient.Builder()
.readTimeout(30, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
.writeTimeout(30, TimeUnit.SECONDS)
.addInterceptor(interceptor)
.build();
retrofit = new Retrofit.Builder()
.baseUrl(base_url)
.addConverterFactory(GsonConverterFactory.create())
.client(client)
.build();
return retrofit;
}
}
ApiInterface.java Code
The ApiInterface.java code is given below:
package com.journaldev.nearbyplaces;
import retrofit2.Call;
import retrofit2.http.GET;
import retrofit2.http.Query;
public interface ApiInterface {
@GET("place/nearbysearch/json?")
Call doPlaces(@Query(value = "type", encoded = true) String type,
@Query(value = "location", encoded = true) String location,
@Query(value = "name", encoded = true) String name,
@Query(value = "opennow", encoded = true) boolean opennow,
@Query(value = "rankby", encoded = true) String rankby,
@Query(value = "key", encoded = true) String key);
@GET("distancematrix/json")
Call getDistance(@Query("key") String key,
@Query("origins") String origins,
@Query("destinations") String destinations);
}
PlacesPOJO.java Code
The PlacesPOJO.java file holds the response from the Places API. Its code is given below:
package com.journaldev.nearbyplaces;
import com.google.gson.annotations.SerializedName;
import java.io.Serializable;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
public class PlacesPOJO {
public class Root implements Serializable {
@SerializedName("results")
public List customA = new ArrayList<>();
@SerializedName("status")
public String status;
}
public class CustomA implements Serializable {
@SerializedName("geometry")
public Geometry geometry;
@SerializedName("vicinity")
public String vicinity;
@SerializedName("name")
public String name;
}
public class Geometry implements Serializable {
@SerializedName("location")
public LocationA locationA;
}
public class LocationA implements Serializable {
@SerializedName("lat")
public String lat;
@SerializedName("lng")
public String lng;
}
}
ResultDistanceMatrix.java Code
The ResultDistanceMatrix.java class holds the response from the Distance Matrix API. Its code is given below:
package com.journaldev.nearbyplaces;
import com.google.gson.annotations.SerializedName;
import java.util.List;
public class ResultDistanceMatrix {
@SerializedName("status")
public String status;
@SerializedName("rows")
public List rows;
public class InfoDistanceMatrix {
@SerializedName("elements")
public List elements;
public class DistanceElement {
@SerializedName("status")
public String status;
@SerializedName("duration")
public ValueItem duration;
@SerializedName("distance")
public ValueItem distance;
}
public class ValueItem {
@SerializedName("value")
public long value;
@SerializedName("text")
public String text;
}
}
}
Activity Layout: activity_main.xml
The activity_main.xml file is given below:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
xmlns:tools="https://schemas.android.com/tools"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:background="#212121"
tools:context="com.journaldev.nearbyplaces.MainActivity">
<EditText
android:id="@+id/editText"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:textColor="@android:color/white"
android:textColorHint="@android:color/white"
android:text="restaurant mcdonalds"
android:hint="type name"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentTop="true"
android:layout_toLeftOf="@+id/button"
android:layout_toStartOf="@+id/button" />
<Button
android:id="@+id/button"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_alignParentEnd="true"
android:layout_alignParentRight="true"
android:text="Search" />
<android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView
android:id="@+id/recyclerView"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="match_parent"
android:layout_below="@+id/editText"
android:scrollbars="vertical" />
</RelativeLayout>
MainActivity.java Code
The MainActivity.java class code is given below:
package com.journaldev.nearbyplaces;
import android.annotation.TargetApi;
import android.content.DialogInterface;
import android.content.pm.PackageManager;
import android.location.Location;
import android.os.Build;
import android.support.v7.app.AlertDialog;
import android.support.v7.app.AppCompatActivity;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.support.v7.widget.LinearLayoutManager;
import android.support.v7.widget.RecyclerView;
import android.view.View;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.EditText;
import android.widget.Toast;
import com.google.android.gms.maps.model.LatLng;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import io.nlopez.smartlocation.OnLocationUpdatedListener;
import io.nlopez.smartlocation.SmartLocation;
import retrofit2.Call;
import retrofit2.Callback;
import retrofit2.Response;
import static android.Manifest.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION;
import static android.Manifest.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION;
public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity {
private ArrayList<String> permissionsToRequest;
private ArrayList<String> permissionsRejected = new ArrayList<>();
private ArrayList<String> permissions = new ArrayList<>();
private final static int ALL_PERMISSIONS_RESULT = 101;
List<StoreModel> storeModels;
ApiInterface apiService;
String latLngString;
LatLng latLng;
RecyclerView recyclerView;
EditText editText;
Button button;
List<PlacesPOJO.CustomA> results;
@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
setContentView(R.layout.activity_main);
permissions.add(ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION);
permissions.add(ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION);
permissionsToRequest = findUnAskedPermissions(permissions);
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.M) {
if (permissionsToRequest.size() > 0)
requestPermissions(permissionsToRequest.toArray(new String[permissionsToRequest.size()]), ALL_PERMISSIONS_RESULT);
else {
fetchLocation();
}
} else {
fetchLocation();
}
apiService = APIClient.getClient().create(ApiInterface.class);
recyclerView = (RecyclerView) findViewById(R.id.recyclerView);
recyclerView.setNestedScrollingEnabled(false);
recyclerView.setHasFixedSize(true);
LinearLayoutManager layoutManager = new LinearLayoutManager(this);
recyclerView.setLayoutManager(layoutManager);
editText = (EditText) findViewById(R.id.editText);
button = (Button) findViewById(R.id.button);
button.setOnClickListener(new View.OnClickListener() {
@Override
public void onClick(View v) {
String s = editText.getText().toString().trim();
String[] split = s.split("\\s+");
if (split.length != 2) {
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Please enter text in the required format", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
} else
fetchStores(split[0], split[1]);
}
});
}
private void fetchStores(String placeType, String businessName) {
/**
* For Locations In India McDonalds stores aren't returned accurately
*/
//Call<PlacesPOJO.Root> call = apiService.doPlaces(placeType, latLngString,"\""+ businessName +"\"", true, "distance", APIClient.GOOGLE_PLACE_API_KEY);
Call<PlacesPOJO.Root> call = apiService.doPlaces(placeType, latLngString, businessName, true, "distance", APIClient.GOOGLE_PLACE_API_KEY);
call.enqueue(new Callback<PlacesPOJO.Root>() {
@Override
public void onResponse(Call<PlacesPOJO.Root> call, Response<PlacesPOJO.Root> response) {
PlacesPOJO.Root root = response.body();
if (response.isSuccessful()) {
if (root.status.equals("OK")) {
results = root.customA;
storeModels = new ArrayList<>();
for (int i = 0; i < results.size(); i++) {
if (i == 10)
break;
PlacesPOJO.CustomA info = results.get(i);
fetchDistance(info);
}
} else {
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "No matches found near you", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
} else if (response.code() != 200) {
Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Error " + response.code() + " found.", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
@Override
public void onFailure(Call<PlacesPOJO.Root> call, Throwable t) {
// Log error here since request failed
call.cancel();
}
});
}
private ArrayList<String> findUnAskedPermissions(ArrayList<String> wanted) {
ArrayList<String> result = new ArrayList<>();
for (String perm : wanted) {
if (!hasPermission(perm)) {
result.add(perm);
}
}
return result;
}
private boolean hasPermission(String permission) {
if (canMakeSmores()) {
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.M) {
return (checkSelfPermission(permission) == PackageManager.PERMISSION_GRANTED);
}
}
return true;
}
private boolean canMakeSmores() {
return (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT > Build.VERSION_CODES.LOLLIPOP_MR1);
}
@TargetApi(Build.VERSION_CODES.M)
@Override
public void onRequestPermissionsResult(int requestCode, String[] permissions, int[] grantResults) {
switch (requestCode) {
case ALL_PERMISSIONS_RESULT:
for (String perms : permissionsToRequest) {
if (!hasPermission(perms)) {
permissionsRejected.add(perms);
}
}
if (permissionsRejected.size() > 0) {
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.M) {
if (shouldShowRequestPermissionRationale(permissionsRejected.get(0))) {
showMessageOKCancel("These permissions are mandatory for the application. Please allow access.",
new DialogInterface.OnClickListener() {
@Override
public void onClick(DialogInterface dialog, int which) {
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= Build.VERSION_CODES.M) {
requestPermissions(permissionsRejected.toArray(new String[permissionsRejected.size()]), ALL_PERMISSIONS_RESULT);
}
}
});
return;
}
}
} else {
fetchLocation();
}
break;
}
}
private void showMessageOKCancel(String message, DialogInterface.OnClickListener okListener) {
new AlertDialog.Builder(MainActivity.this)
.setMessage(message)
.setPositiveButton("OK", okListener)
.setNegativeButton("Cancel", null)
.create()
.show();
}
private void fetchLocation() {
SmartLocation.with(this).location()
.oneFix()
.start(new OnLocationUpdatedListener() {
@Override
public void onLocationUpdated(Location location) {
latLngString = location.getLatitude() + "," + location.getLongitude();
latLng = new LatLng(location.getLatitude(), location.getLongitude());
}
});
}
private void fetchDistance(final PlacesPOJO.CustomA info) {
Call<ResultDistanceMatrix> call = apiService.getDistance(APIClient.GOOGLE_PLACE_API_KEY, latLngString, info.geometry.locationA.lat + "," + info.geometry.locationA.lng);
call.enqueue(new Callback<ResultDistanceMatrix>() {
@Override
public void onResponse(Call<ResultDistanceMatrix> call, Response<ResultDistanceMatrix> response) {
ResultDistanceMatrix resultDistance = response.body();
if ("OK".equalsIgnoreCase(resultDistance.status)) {
ResultDistanceMatrix.InfoDistanceMatrix infoDistanceMatrix = resultDistance.rows.get(0);
ResultDistanceMatrix.InfoDistanceMatrix.DistanceElement distanceElement = infoDistanceMatrix.elements.get(0);
if ("OK".equalsIgnoreCase(distanceElement.status)) {
ResultDistanceMatrix.InfoDistanceMatrix.ValueItem itemDuration = distanceElement.duration;
ResultDistanceMatrix.InfoDistanceMatrix.ValueItem itemDistance = distanceElement.distance;
String totalDistance = String.valueOf(itemDistance.text);
String totalDuration = String.valueOf(itemDuration.text);
storeModels.add(new StoreModel(info.name, info.vicinity, totalDistance, totalDuration));
if (storeModels.size() == 10 || storeModels.size() == results.size()) {
RecyclerViewAdapter adapterStores = new RecyclerViewAdapter(results, storeModels);
recyclerView.setAdapter(adapterStores);
}
}
}
}
@Override
public void onFailure(Call<ResultDistanceMatrix> call, Throwable t) {
call.cancel();
}
});
}
}
In the above code, we start by asking for runtime permissions followed by fetching the current location using the SmartLocation Library. Once we have that in place, we pass the first word from the EditText in the type and the second word in the name parameter of the fetchStores() method that eventually calls the Google Places API web service. We limit the search results to 10. For each result, we calculate the distance and time from the store inside the method fetchDistance(). Once it’s done for all the stores, we populate the data inside the RecyclerViewAdapter.java class using a StoreModel.java data class.
StoreModel.java Code
The StoreModel.java code is given below:
package com.journaldev.nearbyplaces;
public class StoreModel {
public String name, address, distance, duration;
public StoreModel(String name, String address, String distance, String duration) {
this.name = name;
this.address = address;
this.distance = distance;
this.duration = duration;
}
}
RecyclerView Row Layout: store_list_row.xml
The layout for each row of the RecyclerView is given in the XML below:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:layout_marginBottom="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
android:orientation="vertical">
<android.support.v7.widget.CardView xmlns:card_view="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
android:id="@+id/card_view"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
card_view:cardCornerRadius="0dp"
card_view:cardElevation="5dp">
<LinearLayout
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:orientation="vertical"
android:padding="5dp">
<TextView
android:id="@+id/txtStoreName"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:paddingBottom="5dp"
android:textColor="#212121" />
<TextView
android:id="@+id/txtStoreAddr"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:paddingBottom="5dp"
android:textColor="#212121" />
<TextView
android:id="@+id/txtStoreDist"
android:layout_width="wrap_content"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:paddingBottom="5dp" />
</LinearLayout>
</android.support.v7.widget.CardView>
</LinearLayout>
RecyclerViewAdapter.java Code
The RecyclerViewAdapter.java code is given below:
public class RecyclerViewAdapter extends RecyclerView.Adapter<RecyclerViewAdapter.MyViewHolder> {
private List<PlacesPOJO.CustomA> stLstStores;
private List<StoreModel> models;
public RecyclerViewAdapter(List<PlacesPOJO.CustomA> stores, List<StoreModel> storeModels) {
stLstStores = stores;
models = storeModels;
}
@Override
public MyViewHolder onCreateViewHolder(ViewGroup parent, int viewType) {
final View view = LayoutInflater.from(parent.getContext())
.inflate(R.layout.store_list_row, parent, false);
return new MyViewHolder(view);
}
@Override
public void onBindViewHolder(MyViewHolder holder, int position) {
holder.setData(stLstStores.get(holder.getAdapterPosition()), holder, models.get(holder.getAdapterPosition()));
}
@Override
public int getItemCount() {
return Math.min(5, stLstStores.size());
}
public class MyViewHolder extends RecyclerView.ViewHolder {
TextView txtStoreName;
TextView txtStoreAddr;
TextView txtStoreDist;
StoreModel model;
public MyViewHolder(View itemView) {
super(itemView);
this.txtStoreDist = (TextView) itemView.findViewById(R.id.txtStoreDist);
this.txtStoreName = (TextView) itemView.findViewById(R.id.txtStoreName);
this.txtStoreAddr = (TextView) itemView.findViewById(R.id.txtStoreAddr);
}
public void setData(PlacesPOJO.CustomA info, MyViewHolder holder, StoreModel storeModel) {
this.model = storeModel;
holder.txtStoreDist.setText(model.distance + "\n" + model.duration);
holder.txtStoreName.setText(info.name);
holder.txtStoreAddr.setText(info.vicinity);
}
}
}
Conclusion
This article provides a clear guide to leveraging the Google Places API and Distance Matrix API to display nearby locations, distances, and travel times in an Android app. By combining tools like Retrofit, Gson, and RecyclerView, we created an efficient and scalable solution.
The application serves as a solid foundation that can be expanded with features like advanced filters, improved UI, or integrations with additional Google APIs. This project is an excellent example of using APIs alongside modern Android development practices.
