How can I use Python to query the Google Maps API and parse JSON responses?

HTTP Requests and JSON Parsing in Python

This tutorial demonstrates how to effectively perform HTTP requests and parse JSON responses in Python, specifically tailored for querying the Google Maps API.

Problem:

Our goal is to dynamically query the Google Maps API via the Google Directions API. For instance, consider the request below:

http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/directions/json?origin=Chicago,IL&destination=Los+Angeles,CA&waypoints=Joplin,MO|Oklahoma+City,OK&sensor=false

This request fetches driving directions from Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA, with waypoints in Joplin, MO and Oklahoma City, OK. The response is returned in JSON format.

Solution:

To implement this in Python, we utilize the popular requests library:

import requests

url = 'http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/directions/json'

params = {
    'origin': 'Chicago,IL',
    'destination': 'Los+Angeles,CA',
    'waypoints': 'Joplin,MO|Oklahoma+City,OK',
    'sensor': 'false'
}

resp = requests.get(url, params=params)
data = resp.json()  # Converts the JSON response into a dictionary

The requests library handles the HTTP request and provides the response in a convenient format. The resp object contains the response status code and headers, while the data variable is a dictionary containing the parsed JSON response.

For further information on understanding JSON response content, please refer to the documentation provided by the requests library.

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