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Android APIs
public final class

Geocoder

extends Object
java.lang.Object
   ↳ android.location.Geocoder

Class Overview

A class for handling geocoding and reverse geocoding. Geocoding is the process of transforming a street address or other description of a location into a (latitude, longitude) coordinate. Reverse geocoding is the process of transforming a (latitude, longitude) coordinate into a (partial) address. The amount of detail in a reverse geocoded location description may vary, for example one might contain the full street address of the closest building, while another might contain only a city name and postal code. The Geocoder class requires a backend service that is not included in the core android framework. The Geocoder query methods will return an empty list if there no backend service in the platform. Use the isPresent() method to determine whether a Geocoder implementation exists.

Summary

Public Constructors
Geocoder(Context context, Locale locale)
Constructs a Geocoder whose responses will be localized for the given Locale.
Geocoder(Context context)
Constructs a Geocoder whose responses will be localized for the default system Locale.
Public Methods
List<Address> getFromLocation(double latitude, double longitude, int maxResults)
Returns an array of Addresses that are known to describe the area immediately surrounding the given latitude and longitude.
List<Address> getFromLocationName(String locationName, int maxResults, double lowerLeftLatitude, double lowerLeftLongitude, double upperRightLatitude, double upperRightLongitude)
Returns an array of Addresses that are known to describe the named location, which may be a place name such as "Dalvik, Iceland", an address such as "1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA", an airport code such as "SFO", etc..
List<Address> getFromLocationName(String locationName, int maxResults)
Returns an array of Addresses that are known to describe the named location, which may be a place name such as "Dalvik, Iceland", an address such as "1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA", an airport code such as "SFO", etc..
static boolean isPresent()
Returns true if the Geocoder methods getFromLocation and getFromLocationName are implemented.
[Expand]
Inherited Methods
From class java.lang.Object

Public Constructors

public Geocoder (Context context, Locale locale)

Added in API level 1

Constructs a Geocoder whose responses will be localized for the given Locale.

Parameters
context the Context of the calling Activity
locale the desired Locale for the query results
Throws
NullPointerException if Locale is null

public Geocoder (Context context)

Added in API level 1

Constructs a Geocoder whose responses will be localized for the default system Locale.

Parameters
context the Context of the calling Activity

Public Methods

public List<Address> getFromLocation (double latitude, double longitude, int maxResults)

Added in API level 1

Returns an array of Addresses that are known to describe the area immediately surrounding the given latitude and longitude. The returned addresses will be localized for the locale provided to this class's constructor.

The returned values may be obtained by means of a network lookup. The results are a best guess and are not guaranteed to be meaningful or correct. It may be useful to call this method from a thread separate from your primary UI thread.

Parameters
latitude the latitude a point for the search
longitude the longitude a point for the search
maxResults max number of addresses to return. Smaller numbers (1 to 5) are recommended
Returns
  • a list of Address objects. Returns null or empty list if no matches were found or there is no backend service available.
Throws
IllegalArgumentException if latitude is less than -90 or greater than 90
IllegalArgumentException if longitude is less than -180 or greater than 180
IOException if the network is unavailable or any other I/O problem occurs

public List<Address> getFromLocationName (String locationName, int maxResults, double lowerLeftLatitude, double lowerLeftLongitude, double upperRightLatitude, double upperRightLongitude)

Added in API level 1

Returns an array of Addresses that are known to describe the named location, which may be a place name such as "Dalvik, Iceland", an address such as "1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA", an airport code such as "SFO", etc.. The returned addresses will be localized for the locale provided to this class's constructor.

You may specify a bounding box for the search results by including the Latitude and Longitude of the Lower Left point and Upper Right point of the box.

The query will block and returned values will be obtained by means of a network lookup. The results are a best guess and are not guaranteed to be meaningful or correct. It may be useful to call this method from a thread separate from your primary UI thread.

Parameters
locationName a user-supplied description of a location
maxResults max number of addresses to return. Smaller numbers (1 to 5) are recommended
lowerLeftLatitude the latitude of the lower left corner of the bounding box
lowerLeftLongitude the longitude of the lower left corner of the bounding box
upperRightLatitude the latitude of the upper right corner of the bounding box
upperRightLongitude the longitude of the upper right corner of the bounding box
Returns
  • a list of Address objects. Returns null or empty list if no matches were found or there is no backend service available.
Throws
IllegalArgumentException if locationName is null
IllegalArgumentException if any latitude is less than -90 or greater than 90
IllegalArgumentException if any longitude is less than -180 or greater than 180
IOException if the network is unavailable or any other I/O problem occurs

public List<Address> getFromLocationName (String locationName, int maxResults)

Added in API level 1

Returns an array of Addresses that are known to describe the named location, which may be a place name such as "Dalvik, Iceland", an address such as "1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA", an airport code such as "SFO", etc.. The returned addresses will be localized for the locale provided to this class's constructor.

The query will block and returned values will be obtained by means of a network lookup. The results are a best guess and are not guaranteed to be meaningful or correct. It may be useful to call this method from a thread separate from your primary UI thread.

Parameters
locationName a user-supplied description of a location
maxResults max number of results to return. Smaller numbers (1 to 5) are recommended
Returns
  • a list of Address objects. Returns null or empty list if no matches were found or there is no backend service available.
Throws
IllegalArgumentException if locationName is null
IOException if the network is unavailable or any other I/O problem occurs

public static boolean isPresent ()

Added in API level 9

Returns true if the Geocoder methods getFromLocation and getFromLocationName are implemented. Lack of network connectivity may still cause these methods to return null or empty lists.