Making Javascript Geocoding requests from the server-side

[Hany el-Kerdany]

Hi,

I need some clarifications to make sure that I have a crisp understanding before selecting the right GeoCoding service for my application.

I understand that if I want to make GeoCoding queries based on "unknown" or "arbitrary" addresses (like addresses entered by user input), I should use the Javascript Geocoder, *not* the GeoCoding Web service. And that I shoul duse the GeoCoding web services in querying for known (existing) addresses, not arbitrary addresses.

What I want to do is to take client side search results, and cache them on my server in order to be able to return these results to other users, to reduce the queries made by my server (or my clients) to Google GeoCoding services (either client or web service geocoders).

My questions are as follows:

• The javascript API V3 geocoding service says that the javascript geocoding service requests are "rate-limited" .. Are they rate-limited per (client / client session), or are they limited by domain (i.e. if a client abuses it, it blocks other users of the same domain).
  
  
• Can I make requests to the Javascript Geocoding service from my server, instead of from the client side? In other words, can I make the server perform the requests to the Javascript service on behalf of my clients (in order to cache the results before passing them back to the user).
  Or will this eventually block the requests from the server as it will be rate-limited since it will be considered "just another client"?

I hope my questions are clear.

Thanks :)

[Rossko]

>    - The javascript API V3 geocoding service says that the javascript

>    geocoding service requests are "rate-limited" .. Are they rate-limited
>    per (client / client session)

per client IP address

>    - Can I make requests to the Javascript Geocoding service from my server,

Why wouldn't you use the HTTP service provided for server-side use
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/geocoding/