Google Places Api Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Steps

1. Installation

   composer require skagarwal/google-places-api
   

2. Publish Config (Laravel)

   php artisan vendor:publish --provider="SKAgarwal\GoogleApi\ServiceProvider"
   

   Set your API key in config/google.php.

3. First Use Case

   use SKAgarwal\GoogleApi\PlacesNew\GooglePlaces;
   
   $response = GooglePlaces::make()->autocomplete('New York');
   $places = $response->collect(); // Collection of results
   

Where to Look First

• Laravel Usage Section: For config setup and basic workflows.
• API Reference: For method signatures and parameters.
• Saloon Documentation: For response handling (array(), collect(), json(), etc.).

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

1. Autocomplete Search

   $response = GooglePlaces::make()->autocomplete('coffee shop');
   $predictions = $response->collect()->pluck('description');
   

2. Nearby Search (New API)

   $response = GooglePlaces::make()->nearbySearch(40.748817, -73.985428, 500.0);
   $places = $response->collect()->map(fn ($place) => $place['name']);
   

3. Place Details

   $response = GooglePlaces::make()->placeDetails('ChIJD7fiBh9u5kcRYJxi53WGga0');
   $details = $response->array()['result'];
   

4. Text Search

   $response = GooglePlaces::make()->textSearch('pizza', ['fields' => ['name', 'rating']]);
   $results = $response->collect()->pluck('name', 'rating');
   

Integration Tips

• Chaining Methods

  $response = GooglePlaces::make()
      ->headers()->add('X-Custom-Header', 'value')
      ->autocomplete('restaurant');
  

• Field Selection Use fields parameter to optimize API calls:

  $response = GooglePlaces::make()->nearbySearch(37.7749, -122.4194, 1000.0, ['fields' => ['name', 'geometry.location']]);
  

• Error Handling

  try {
      $response = GooglePlaces::make()->throw()->nearbySearch(0, 0, 500.0);
  } catch (\Saloon\Http\Exceptions\SaloonException $e) {
      Log::error('Google Places API Error: ' . $e->getMessage());
  }
  

• Caching Responses Cache frequent queries (e.g., autocomplete) using Laravel’s cache:

  $cacheKey = 'places_autocomplete_' . md5($input);
  $response = Cache::remember($cacheKey, now()->addMinutes(10), function () use ($input) {
      return GooglePlaces::make()->autocomplete($input);
  });
  

Laravel-Specific Patterns

• Service Container Binding Bind the client in AppServiceProvider for dependency injection:

  $this->app->bind(GooglePlaces::class, function ($app) {
      return GooglePlaces::make();
  });
  

• API Key Management Store the key in .env and access via config('google.api_key'):

  GooglePlaces::make()->setKey(config('google.api_key'));
  

Gotchas and Tips

Pitfalls

1. API Key Leaks

   • Never hardcode API keys in source files. Use Laravel’s .env and config/google.php.
   • Fix: Validate the config file is not committed to version control.

2. Rate Limits

   • Google Places API has usage limits. Monitor your quota in the Google Cloud Console.
   • Fix: Implement exponential backoff for retries:

     $response = GooglePlaces::make()->retry(3, 100)->nearbySearch(0, 0, 500.0);
     

3. Deprecated API (v2.2)

   • Avoid using SKAgarwal\GoogleApi\Places\GooglePlaces (original API). Migrate to PlacesNew for future compatibility.
   • Fix: Update imports and method calls to use the new API.

4. SSL Verification

   • Disabling SSL (verifySSL: false) is insecure. Use only in development.
   • Fix: Configure a proper SSL setup or use a local proxy.

5. Field Selection Errors

   • Invalid fields parameters (e.g., typos) return empty responses. Validate against Google’s field list.
   • Fix: Use ['*'] for testing, then narrow down fields.

Debugging

• Response Inspection Log raw responses to debug:

  $response = GooglePlaces::make()->autocomplete('test');
  Log::debug('Google Places Response:', ['status' => $response->status(), 'body' => $response->body()]);
  

• Saloon Logging Enable Saloon’s debug mode:

  GooglePlaces::make()->debug();
  

• Common HTTP Errors

  • 400 Bad Request: Invalid parameters or API key.
  • 403 Forbidden: API key not enabled for Places API or quota exceeded.
  • 500 Server Error: Temporary Google API issue. Retry with backoff.

Extension Points

1. Custom Requests Extend the client for unsupported endpoints using Saloon’s extend method:

   GooglePlaces::extend('customSearch', function () {
       return new SaloonHttp($this->config);
   })->addRequest('customSearch', \SKAgarwal\GoogleApi\PlacesNew\Requests\CustomSearch::class);
   

2. Response Transformers Modify responses globally by extending the GooglePlaces class:

   class CustomGooglePlaces extends GooglePlaces {
       public function transformResponse($response) {
           $data = parent::transformResponse($response);
           return collect($data)->map(fn ($item) => [
               'id' => $item['place_id'],
               'name' => $item['name'],
           ]);
       }
   }
   

3. Middleware Add custom middleware to the Saloon client:

   GooglePlaces::make()->withMiddleware(new CustomMiddleware());
   

Configuration Quirks

• Headers in Config Set default headers in config/google.php:

  'headers' => [
      'Accept-Language' => 'en-US',
  ],
  

• Environment-Specific Keys Use Laravel’s env() helper to switch keys per environment:

  GooglePlaces::make()->setKey(env('GOOGLE_PLACES_API_KEY_' . config('app.env')));
  

• Throwing Exceptions Default behavior is silent failure. Enable exceptions per request:

  $response = GooglePlaces::make()->throw()->nearbySearch(0, 0, 500.0);
  

Performance Tips

• Batch Requests For multiple searches, batch requests to reduce latency:

  $locations = ['40.748817,-73.985428', '34.052235,-118.243683'];
  $results = collect($locations)->map(fn ($loc) => GooglePlaces::make()->nearbySearch($loc, 500.0)->collect());
  

• Field Pruning Request only necessary fields to reduce payload size:

  $response = GooglePlaces::make()->nearbySearch(0, 0, 500.0, ['fields' => ['name', 'geometry.location']]);
  

• Async Processing Use Laravel Queues for non-critical searches:

  SearchPlacesJob::dispatch('restaurant')->onQueue('places');