REST and Geocoding: The Perfect Combination for NonStop
Updated: Dec 29, 2022
Some may refer to it as low hanging fruit, others the sweet spot , or even perhaps the perfect storm. Regardless, geocoding may be the perfect way to empower your NonStop application via RESTful API.
What is Geocoding?
Before we get into how to use Geocoding, it’s important to understand its function. Through Geocoding, a street address can be converted into geographic coordinates like latitude and longitude. This allows a computer system to make a map with the locations of different businesses, houses, parks, and much more.
What if you already have the latitude and longitude of a location? Reverse geocoding converts geographic coordinates into a street address that humans can read.
Geocoding Use Cases
How can Geocoding enhance your experience with NonStop applications? Here are some examples:
Financial Services – Geocoding allows banks and brokerage services to provide clients with the location of the closest ATM or branch offices. It can also track these financial companies’ clients’ ATM transaction locations
Retail Services – Use geocoding to guide your clients to the closest retail store, restaurant, or insurance branch. All it takes is a REST web service request to access the location of these amenities.
Fleet management – Geocoding can also help you plan the most optimal and most cost efficient route for your delivery vehicle. Need to get a delivery out fast? Geocoding has you covered!
Whatever application you are running on NonStop, chances are that you will discover that geocoding can make the user experience more efficient and beneficial.
Geocoding API Service Providers
Chances are, you have already been using Geocoding services for the past 20 years. The very first consumer-focused interactive mapping site was launched in 1996, known as MapQuest.com. Since then, Google Maps has become more popular. Google also offers Geocoding API service, as does Bing. Perhaps less commonly known, Pitney Bowes and the US Census Bureau provide Geocoding API as well! Check out this article comparing different services:
Using REST on NonStop
So, how can you take advantage of Geocoding for NonStop?
The answer is simple: LightWave Client
With LightWave Client, all the complexities of HTTP, TLS, JSON, TCP/IP are gone, because everything is handled by LightWave Client. Accessing the Geocode API from your NonStop application written in C, COBOL, TAL, or any other language, is as easy as merely sending a request via standard Pathway IPM.
More Information
Download a complete working C program from NuWave that allows NonStop to access Google Gecode API using LightWave Client. Github
Would you prefer a sample program written in COBOL? email TIC Software today:
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Phil Ly is the president and founder of TIC Software, a New York-based company specializing in software and services that integrate NonStop with the latest technologies, including Web Services, .NET and Java. Prior to founding TIC in 1983, Phil worked for Tandem Computer in technical support and software development.