iOS SDK Convert Address to GPS

Question

I'm not a developer, so I appreciate your patience with me as I ask for help. We've hired a dev house to build a native iOS app and have a feature that pulls several address fields from our back-end to place multiple "pins" on an in-app Google maps display. Sometimes it works - sometimes it doesn't - and when it doesn't, it gives the user their current location. The address fields in the database have all been directly copy/pasted from Google Maps online so we know the addresses are formatted exactly as Google recognizes them.

I searched and found this topic which seem to indicate that this should be easily do-able with proper coding:

Geoencode Address to GPS Coordinates (to do with another API)

I also found a few other posts that deal with this issue on Android (How can I find the latitude and longitude from address?), and iOS but using addresses from within the app (Convert address to longitude and latitude).. ours are being pulled from a database.

Our developer has given us a work-around that requires us to manually go in and "place" the pins for every address in our back-office, which is super laborious as we have thousands of entries to correct and no way to know which are not showing correctly until a user tries to access them.

My question is this - shouldn't this be something that can be rectified with proper coding?

If it is possible, is there specific formatting requirements that we're not adhering to?

I'm posting in lieu of the developer because he feels like he's given us a fair method to solve it - however, I would prefer a more universal and less labor intensive solution.

THANKS ALL

Answer 1

This isn't the answer, its comments that are too long to fit in the comment section.

What does this mean exactly :""place" the pins for every address in our back-office"? That may not necessarily be laborious as a coder could write a script (a small program) to do it rather than a person do it manually. However that is not to say that is the correct approach, and it certainly doesn't sound like it.

I have not used google maps myself on iOS so what I am saying is not definitive, but I certainly cannot see why CLGeocoder cannot be used to convert your addresses to co-ordinates. If your addresses are not in the correct format then I also cannot see any reason why your developer cannot deal with that in the app and convert them to the format CLGeoder requires if it can't deal with them. Can you provide an example of the address format you have in your database.

However IF your developer is competent and diligent there may be a reason why that is not feasible, have you asked them for a detailed explanation and justification exactly why they cannot use CLGeocoder or something else? (This thread here suggests its not very accurate, iOS: ReverseGeocoding Using CLGeocoder Vs. Google Geocoder API. Though the posting is a few years old now and that situation may have changed).

Its your app and you are paying the developer, so ask them to explain their work-around solution and why its necessary in their opinion and then post their response here.

You may have a competent developer who knows what he's doing, but you may have an "Always Cheaper" one https://www.pinterest.com/pin/21462535695146328/

But its not possible to know without knowing their reason and justification for asking you to put the pins in your back office.