gridpin

Geocode a CSV in the browser, no terminal

The person with the spreadsheet should not need a terminal. The local server has a page for exactly that: drop a CSV, pick the address column, download the result.

New Geocode addresses Browser Server, Docker Websites, help desks

What you have

A CSV with an address column, and someone who can start the server once:

stores.csvfile
store,address
Loop,"233 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606"
Magnificent Mile,"600 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611"
Wrigleyville,"1060 W Addison St, Chicago, IL 60613"

Steps

1. Start the server for the country of the addresses:

terminalCLI
$ gridpin serve usa.bin --port 8080

2. Open http://127.0.0.1:8080/ui. The page is served by the same program:

terminalCLI
$ curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8080/ui | grep -o '<h1>[^<]*</h1>'
<h1>Geocode a CSV</h1>

3. Drop the CSV, check the address column (a column named address, query or q is picked for you), press Geocode, then Download CSV. The page sends the rows to the server 500 at a time, the same request as this one:

terminalCLI
$ curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8080/v1/geocode -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"queries": ["233 S Wacker Dr, Chicago, IL 60606"], "k": 1}'
{"results":[[{"commune":"Chicago","confidence":0.949999988079071,"flags":["street_exact","commune_exact","house_rep","pc_exact"],"housenumber":"233","lat":41.878658,"lon":-87.6358684,"match_level":"PointAddress","match_status":"M","postcode":"60606","precision":"house","score":7.2687788009643555,"street":"South WACKER Drive","weak":false}]]}

What you get

The file back with gp_lat, gp_lon, gp_match_level and the address found; the page shows the count of each match level and the first 20 rows, each with a link to see the point on a map. With the three stores above it shows PointAddress: 3.

Why it works

The page is one HTML file inside the program: no outside script, font or service. It reads the CSV in the browser and sends only the address column to /v1/geocode of the server it came from.

Limits

  • The map link opens openstreetmap.org with that point: the only outside request, and only when clicked.
  • The whole file is read into the browser's memory: a very large file is a job for the command line.
  • To serve colleagues, start it with --host 0.0.0.0 on a trusted network; it has no login.

All its keys: command reference. The function: a page to geocode a CSV.

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