Integrate geocoding the right way

This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Vratislav Kopp

This is the first article in a series covering integrating geocode to Node.js applications in a way that lets you:

Create an integration that never breaks
Use different API providers based on location
Make sure you always get the data you need

There is no single best provider

When integrating geocoding, most developers start by comparing a couple of geocoding API providers, choose the seemingly best one and bake it in their app.

However, there is no single best Geocoding API. Moreover, getting familiar with every considered provider takes time, and hard-wiring just one achieves nothing but vendor lock.

Integrate them all

Instead of looking for a unicorn, integrate the business use-case and access any provider of preference at the runtime. This can be achieved using Superface's open source OneSDK, which serves as a universal interface to many APIs. Here’s how to do it.

Integrate geocoding using Superface OneSDK

The following steps are pretty straightforward, however if this is your first run with Superface or you just want a better understanding of what’s happening under the hood, read the documentation.

Install Superface OneSDK package in your project folder.
```
npm install @superfaceai/one-sdk
```

Install address/geocoding profile.

npx @superfaceai/cli install address/geocoding

Configure desired providers. Nominatim offers their API publicly. No keys required.

# Here.com
npx @superfaceai/cli configure here -p address/geocoding

# Google Maps
npx @superfaceai/cli configure google-apis-maps -p address/geocoding

# Azure Maps
npx @superfaceai/cli configure azure -p address/geocoding

# OpenCage
npx @superfaceai/cli configure opencage -p address/geocoding

# TomTom
npx @superfaceai/cli configure opencage -p address/geocoding

# Nominatim
npx @superfaceai/cli configure nominatim -p address/geocoding

If you need another provider, let me know.

Obtain API keys for the desired providers and set them as an environment variable.

# Here.com
export HERE_API_KEY=your-value-from-here

# Google Maps
export GOOGLE_APIS_MAPS_API_KEY=your-value-from-google-maps

# Azure Maps
export AZURE_API_KEY=your-value-from-azure

# OpenCage
export OPENCAGE_API_KEY=your-value-from-opencage

# TomTom
export TOMTOM_API_KEY=your-value-from-tomtom

How to get API keys: Here.com | Google Maps | Azure Maps | OpenCage | TomTom

Use the following code in your Node.js application and replace the example address with your input:

const { SuperfaceClient } = require('@superfaceai/one-sdk');

async function Geocoding() {
  const sdk = new SuperfaceClient();

  // Load the installed profile
  const profile = await sdk.getProfile('address/geocoding');

  // Choose the provider
  const provider = await sdk.getProvider('nominatim');

  // Use the profile
  const result = await profile
    .getUseCase('Geocode')
    .perform({
      addressCountry: 'United States',
      addressLocality: 'Manhattan',
      postalCode: 'NY 10036',
      streetAddress: 'Times Square',
    },
    { provider }
  );

  // Check out the result
  try {
    const data = result.unwrap();
    console.log(data);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(error);
  }
}

Geocoding();

Run the code.

Calling the Geocoding function should return a similar result:

{ latitude: '40.757280550000004', longitude: '-73.98585503545917' }

And that’s it. Your basic integration is ready.

There is no single best provider

Integrate them all

Integrate geocoding using Superface OneSDK

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