Alternatives to google local search api?

[rameshvel]

Hi,

   I am working on a app which displays the near by places based on the lat,long and radius value. So i was looking for the best solution and found two interesting approaches

  

• Google local search JS api - http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/localsearch/
  
• Google places JS api - http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/places/

By analyzing the both i found that local search api(which powers the google maps  search) is far superior and accurate than the places api. When  i tried to find the places based on the category using these two approaches, local search api gives better results, but places api doesnt even return a single place for some categories

The categories i tried are

1. train_station
   
2. grocery_or_supermarket
   
3. department_store
   
4. shopping_mall
   
5. bus_station
   
6. atm
   
7. bank
8. hospital
   
9. pharmacy
10. school
    
11. university
    
12. restaurant
    

I got results (top 10 nearest places)  for all the above categories using local search api (sample url below)

http://www.google.com/uds/GlocalSearch?callback=google.search.LocalSearch.RawCompletion&rsz=large&hl=en&gss=.com&sig=your_sig&start=8&q=bus%20stop&sll=13.0485,80.226&gll=13016737,80194237,13080262,80257762&llsep=500,500&nogeocode=t&context=1&key=your_key&v=1.0&nocache=1328680126076

but places api only returns the data for train_stattion,university,atm. for the remaining 9 categories it doesnt return any results (below the sample url for places api)

https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js/PlaceService.FindPlaces?1m6&1m2&1d13.033472541476415&2d80.22191790909585&2m2&1d13.087371458523586&2d80.27724809090421&2sen&6strain_station&callback=_xdc_._u94g0o&token=94686

So i came to the conclusion the local search api is far more superior and accurate, but its deprecated. As per the deprecation notice announcement in these links http://googlecode.blogspot.in/2010/11/introducing-google-apis-console-and-our.html and https://developers.google.com/web-search/docs/ google custom search replaced the old localsearch, but I can't  find any documentation about how to use that new API for the same kind of thing as the local search

 

Can someone clarify this?. any alternatives? I am about to go to production in few weeks, any help or a pointer greatly appreciated..

[Grok Lobster]

If we are lucky, the deprecated code will work for at least five years.

[Jeremy Geerdes]

Sadly, the local search api is deprecated and scheduled for shutdown, if I recall, in November 2013.

Jg

On Feb 8, 2012 9:28 PM, "Grok Lobster" <discgo...@gmail.com> wrote: