Google Maps API Querries

[nathansizemore]

Hello!

I am trying to find a way to assign the JSON value Google Map's API Returns when passed an address.  I would search Google, but I am only a few month deep into PHP and really don't know what keywords to use.  I really don't even know what a JSON is? 

Anyway, I found this article that explains how to query Google Maps with an address and have it return a GPS Location.  When I tested it in my browser, the text appears.  I just don't know what to use to take what the browser is displaying and assign in to an Object in a PHP page.

This is the Google Maps Query:

http://maps.google.com/maps/geo?q="ADDRESS"&output=csv&oe=utf8

 

This my function where I want to use this:

//Querries Google Map's API with an address and assigns the returned GPS Location 
//to this Object
public function build_me($this_address)
{
	//Builds the query from the address array to send to the Goole Maps API
	$query = $this_address["Line1"].",".$this_address["Line2"].",".
		 $this_address["City"].",".$this_address["State"].",".$this_address["Zip"];

	//Location_Array = http://maps.google.com/maps/geo?q=$query&output=csv&oe=utf8
	$this->latitude  = //Location_Array['Something'];
	$this->longitude = //Location_Array['Something'];
}

 

This is the article that I am referring to:

http://martinsikora.com/how-to-get-gps-coordinates-from-an-address

 

My question is, how would I go about doing this?  Are there any good tutorials on this?

Thanks in advance for anyone pointing me in the right direction!

[nathansizemore]

Solved. 

Via @bažmegakapa from StackOverflow:

 

 

Actually the URL you are showing will produce a CSV output (that is why it has the output=csv parameter). You can see it if you simply insert it into your browser (Downing Street 10):

 

200,8,45.9797693,-66.5854067

 

Here are some useful resources to get the job done:

 

cURL to make the call to the Google API

cURL Tutorial

str_getcsv() to parse a CSV string into a PHP array

(json_decode() to translate JSON to PHP arrays/objects - just in case you're gonna need it later)