Snevl Latitude Version 2 Discussion

[simonog]

Diagnosing part of the cause I think the error message is something to do with the interaction of Latitude and BTraced, both of which I was running (when BTraced wasn't really working).

If I turn off Latitude, the error messages go away.

i'll see if that helps with battery life too.

Simon

[jbbtex]

I am also getting the Error - No AddressDetails in reverse_geocode()!

It seems to me that google has perhaps changed something since I'm not getting address info for any of three iPhones, but do get City/State.

[stevea]

I'll take a look. You guys are right that this shouldn't have anything to do with Btraced. The reverse geocode is simply using Google's web service to look up a street address based on the Lat/Lon.

Steve

[simonog]

Still getting the error with Latitude removed from phone and turned off on HS though at a lower intensity than before as far as I can see.

unfortunately though, the battery loses about 8% per hour if BTraced is running, even if I do not change location (so it doesn't need to send data to the HS server).

suggests to me that it is running a lot more than I had hoped it would need to do.

Simon

[jfla]

[stevea]

Jean-Francois,

Thanks for posting your lat/lon. That will help me.

It looks as though Google has changed something in a significant way. For the people I track, it isn't giving the error you guys have been describing, but Snevl Latitude is only picking up the City and State. It appears for outside it is getting even less.

I've turned on debug to get the reverse geo XML files and will try and look at them today. If some of you that are getting the "No AddressDetails" error could do the same, please email one or two to me at snevl at msn dot com.

I'm hopeful that Google just changed their XML schema somehow and I just need to parse the new format.

Sorry about that.

Steve

[stevea]

A quick update for those having reverse geocode problems. It's been so long since I did all of this I don't remember much of it, but it appears I have been using some sort of undocumented way to get reverse geocode data from Google. I think I did that because the documented API required that each user (each of you) to have a registered API key, which you have to buy from Google.

The bad news: It appears now this undocumented method doesn't work any longer, at least for some parts of the world.

The good news: The Google Geocode API v3 (which recently replaced version 2) doesn't require the key. I'm going to look into replacing my old method with the new API. This is a pretty big change, and it looks like I have to re-write that entire section of the code.

I'd still like any debug XML files that any of you want to send me. They should be in your logs subdirectory, and will be named "SnevlLatitude_ReverseGeo_*.XML.

Steve

[jfla]

Hi Steve

mail sent with 2 SnevlLatitude_ReverseGeo_*.XML

Jean-francois

[stevea]

Hi Steve

mail sent with 2 SnevlLatitude_ReverseGeo_*.XML

Jean-francois

Thanks Jean-francois. Your data confirms stuff I've found elsewhere on the net. It appears that the old method was being used by a number of people (and applications), and it all quit working sometime on 13-Mar. I've got some sample data for the new schema, and am working on it now.

Steve

[stevea]

All,

I think I've got the reverse geocode lookup fixed. The new Google API is much cleaner, so I think this fix will make the reported address much more consistent. It also simplified the code by a significant amount.

I'm taking the opportunity to make a couple of other nagging fixes as well, so probably won't have the new version posted until tomorrow.

Steve

[Gogs]

All,

I think I've got the reverse geocode lookup fixed. The new Google API is much cleaner, so I think this fix will make the reported address much more consistent. It also simplified the code by a significant amount.

I'm taking the opportunity to make a couple of other nagging fixes as well, so probably won't have the new version posted until tomorrow.

Steve

I have been watching this development and have come to the conclusion it's a regional problem as I am having no problems.

[stevea]

I have been watching this development and have come to the conclusion it's a regional problem as I am having no problems.

That's very strange Gordon. From what I could find on the Internet, Google stopped supporting the old reverse-geocode stuff sometime on 13-Mar. On the track history table, which version do you display? If you switch to the one that has the address, City, Postal Code, and Lat/Lon, does it still look right?

I wasn't getting the errors in the log that people were mentioning, but I also wasn't getting a good address displayed. It would either have nothing, or just the city name.

Steve

[Gogs]

That's very strange Gordon. From what I could find on the Internet, Google stopped supporting the old reverse-geocode stuff sometime on 13-Mar. On the track history table, which version do you display? If you switch to the one that has the address, City, Postal Code, and Lat/Lon, does it still look right?

I wasn't getting the errors in the log that people were mentioning, but I also wasn't getting a good address displayed. It would either have nothing, or just the city name.

Steve

Ahh, Yes, me being stupid, I watch the plot rather than the track history.

Yes I have lost the data on the track history.

[stevea]

v2.2 posted

I just posted the ZIP file for v2.2 in the library thread: http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=156656. The changes to v2.2 are:

• The reverse geocode part of the script has been rewritten to replace the old Google API (which quit working) with v3 of the geocode API. This is probably the most significant change to v2.2.
• A few changes to how the code determines if the database needs to be upgraded, to prevent some problems a few users have discovered.
• Stopped the Btraced interface ASPX file from writting debug unless debug is turned on.

If upgrading from v2.0 or v2.1, simply copy over the ASPX pages and the main script. If upgrading from v1.X, you will also need the two subdirectories under HTML. The docs (except for the change log) did not change.

Post any comments, questions, or bug reports in this thread.

Steve

[stevea]

An important note for those trying out v2.2 to fix the reverse geocode problem in v2.1: The reverse gecode software does not get called until the person moves. So if you install v2.2 and do not see the address correctly updating, make sure you wait until the phones have moved before deciding there is a problem.

Steve