Fetching data from the Google places API

The Google places API is part of Google Maps and returns information about places, for example, banks, cash machines, services, airports, and more. It marks an attempt by Google to connect users directly to shops or items of interest near their location, and is heavily geared towards mobile usage. In this recipe, we will create a new module that will contain all of the code required to connect to and return data from the Google places API.

Getting ready

You will require an API key (key for browser applications) from Google in order to perform requests against the places API. You can obtain a key from Google's developer website at https://code.google.com/apis/console.

How to do it…

Create a new project in Appcelerator Studio, to which you can give any name you want. Then, create a new file called placesapi.js, and save it in your project's Resources directory.

Type the following code in this new JavaScript file:

exports.getData = function(lat, lon, radius...