ggeocode fails with java null pointer exeception error

[mh5046a]

I installed application components 2 months ago (Nov 2017) and ran sample trials in Stata without any problem. I recently tried to execute on a new data file and received error messages. I received the same error message when I tried to execute on original dataset that worked; it also failed when I attempted to execute using sample data from help file. The output is pasted below. Thanks for your help.

input int housenum str13 street str10 city str2 state str5 zip
4287 "46th Ave N" "Robbinsdale" "MN" "55422"
6675 "Old Canton Rd" "Ridgeland" "MS" "39157"
12313 "33rd Ave NE" "Seattle" "WA" "98125"
310 "Cahir St" "Providence" "RI" "02903"
22 "Oaklawn Ave" "Cranston" "RI" "02920"
61 "Pine St" "Attleboro" "MA" "02703"
10 "Larkspur Rd" "Warwick" "RI" "02886"
91 "Fallon Ave" "Providence" "RI" "02908"
195 "Arlington Ave" "Providence" "RI" "02906"
end
ggeocode housenum street city state zip
java.lang.NullPointerException
        at org.paces.Stata.Google.Geocode.setBoundingBoxes(Geocode.java:212)
        at org.paces.Stata.Google.Geocode.<init>(Geocode.java:121)
        at org.paces.Stata.Google.Geocode.<init>(Geocode.java:145)
        at org.paces.Stata.Google.Google.geocode(Google.java:29)
r(5100);

[wbuchanan]

@mh5046a
As a quick FYI. I edited your comment to make the script you provided easier to copy/paste for replication purposes.

[wbuchanan]

@mh5046a
At the moment it seems like some odd issue with a rate quote limit that may be being caused by the calls being issued too rapidly. I used what was above and was able to get varying degrees off success, but it had nothing to do with the addresses or bounding boxes being available in the returned object. I added some debugging messages to the Java binary to try tracing the problem:

input int housenum str13 street str11 city str2 state str5 zip
4287 "46th Ave N" "Robbinsdale" "MN" "55422"
6675 "Old Canton Rd" "Ridgeland" "MS" "39157"
12313 "33rd Ave NE" "Seattle" "WA" "98125"
310 "Cahir St" "Providence" "RI" "02903"
22 "Oaklawn Ave" "Cranston" "RI" "02920"
61 "Pine St" "Attleboro" "MA" "02703"
10 "Larkspur Rd" "Warwick" "RI" "02886"
91 "Fallon Ave" "Providence" "RI" "02908"
195 "Arlington Ave" "Providence" "RI" "02906"
end
ggeocode housenum street city state zip if _n in 1/5
https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=4287+46th+Ave+N+Robbinsdale+MN+55422
JSON Node Content after URL connection
{"results":[{"address_components":[{"long_name":"4287","short_name":"4287","types":["street_number"]},{"long_name":"46th Avenue North","short_name":"46th Ave N","types":["route"]},{"long_name":"Robbinsdale","short_name":"Robbinsdale","t
> ypes":["locality","political"]},{"long_name":"Hennepin County","short_name":"Hennepin County","types":["administrative_area_level_2","political"]},{"long_name":"Minnesota","short_name":"MN","types":["administrative_area_level_1","poli
> tical"]},{"long_name":"United States","short_name":"US","types":["country","political"]},{"long_name":"55422","short_name":"55422","types":["postal_code"]}],"formatted_address":"4287 46th Ave N, Robbinsdale, MN 55422, USA","geometry":
> {"location":{"lat":45.039041,"lng":-93.3348516},"location_type":"RANGE_INTERPOLATED","viewport":{"northeast":{"lat":45.04038998029149,"lng":-93.33350261970848},"southwest":{"lat":45.03769201970849,"lng":-93.3362005802915}}},"place_id"
> :"Eis0Mjg3IDQ2dGggQXZlIE4sIFJvYmJpbnNkYWxlLCBNTiA1NTQyMiwgVVNB","types":["street_address"]}],"status":"OK"}
https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/geocode/json?address=6675+Old+Canton+Rd+Ridgeland+MS+39157
JSON Node Content after URL connection
{"error_message":"You have exceeded your daily request quota for this API. We recommend registering for a key at the Google Developers Console: https://console.developers.google.com/apis/credentials?project=_","results":[],"status":"OVE
> R_QUERY_LIMIT"}
java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
        at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
        at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
        at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
        at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:498)
        at com.stata.Javacall.load(Javacall.java:130)
        at com.stata.Javacall.load(Javacall.java:90)
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
        at org.paces.Stata.Google.Geocode.setBoundingBoxes(Geocode.java:220)
        at org.paces.Stata.Google.Geocode.<init>(Geocode.java:123)
        at org.paces.Stata.Google.Geocode.<init>(Geocode.java:147)
        at org.paces.Stata.Google.Google.geocode(Google.java:29)
        ... 6 more
r(5100);

Maybe someone like @domesticmouse or another of the major contributors to some of the work on these APIs from the Google side of things might have some ideas about what might be causing the issues with the query limit error being thrown to early? I've pushed the version with the debugging messages into a new branch issue27 in case that helps others help me identify the issue.

[domesticmouse]

Given the error message about registering for an API Key, and the quoted request URL not containing an API Key, I'd guess you are making an API request without an API key.

[wbuchanan]

@domesticmouse
If it was only an issue with an API key should it return any results? The more concerning issue to me is that the API request isn’t returning consistent results (e.g., sometimes it returns the geocoded results and others it returns the error with the same input).

[domesticmouse]

I'd need to see the full request to the Google Maps Web Service APIs to be able to fully understand what is going wrong. Also, a better place to ask questions is Stack Overflow and submit bugs on our issue trackers.

[wbuchanan]

@mh5046a
Following @domesticmouse's advice, I submitted an issue to Google's issue tracker. The issue seems to be with the way that requests without an API key are currently handled (e.g., there is now a shared quota which caused the failures that you noted). If you request a free API key from Google you can pass that API key to the apikey() parameter of ggeocode. If you do that you should have no issues:

 input int housenum str13 street str10 city str2 state str5 zip

     housenum         street        city      state        zip
  1. 4287 "46th Ave N" "Robbinsdale" "MN" "55422"
  2. 6675 "Old Canton Rd" "Ridgeland" "MS" "39157"
  3. 12313 "33rd Ave NE" "Seattle" "WA" "98125"
  4. 310 "Cahir St" "Providence" "RI" "02903"
  5. 22 "Oaklawn Ave" "Cranston" "RI" "02920"
  6. 61 "Pine St" "Attleboro" "MA" "02703"
  7. 10 "Larkspur Rd" "Warwick" "RI" "02886"
  8. 91 "Fallon Ave" "Providence" "RI" "02908"
  9. 195 "Arlington Ave" "Providence" "RI" "02906"
 10. end

. ggeocode housenum street city state zip, api(XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX)

. li

     +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
     | housenum          street         city   state     zip         lat          lon |
     |--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
  1. |     4287      46th Ave N   Robbinsdal      MN   55422   45.039041   -93.334852 |
  2. |     6675   Old Canton Rd    Ridgeland      MS   39157   32.405078   -90.108584 |
  3. |    12313     33rd Ave NE      Seattle      WA   98125   47.717745   -122.29312 |
  4. |      310        Cahir St   Providence      RI   02903   41.817465   -71.418362 |
  5. |       22     Oaklawn Ave     Cranston      RI   02920   41.774516   -71.467927 |
     |--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
  6. |       61         Pine St    Attleboro      MA   02703   41.941775   -71.281748 |
  7. |       10     Larkspur Rd      Warwick      RI   02886   41.722903   -71.460397 |
  8. |       91      Fallon Ave   Providence      RI   02908   41.834768   -71.443153 |
  9. |      195   Arlington Ave   Providence      RI   02906   41.835871    -71.39533 |
     +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

I do have to push an update for distribution since the API request URL was not constructed correctly when an API key was passed, but you can grab a binary from the dev branch if needed in the meantime to get up and running.

[mh5046a]

Hi, Well not sure why but still having same issue. Can you trace that it is actually using the api key specified? I generated a key and attempted to run against file with 500 records (within limits of daily usage). Failed returning same error messages as before. I then re-ran on the sample data (9 records) it worked. I tried sample data again later and it failed. Generated new key and still failed. Seems that maybe it was using shared pool when it worked, but has since exceeded daily limit usage. Any ideas appreciated. Thanks. Michael Hatch PhD Candidate, American University Department of Public Administration and Policy

…

On Thu, Feb 22, 2018 at 5:53 AM, William Buchanan ***@***.***> wrote: @mh5046a <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_mh5046a&d=DwMFaQ&c=U0G0XJAMhEk_X0GAGzCL7Q&r=jq3Kt3nCyjjS5FfmBgdUbJ6u_OxxnSDaX9KVvgZqo3I&m=FeFatc7IpxRZjo73tb7nl_XN_lK3wE7C41AMpAjR3RM&s=ryAcKMjGeqxqOxZ20KMrPJS5XCytyaWj_Lv4BahNuN4&e=> Following @domesticmouse <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_domesticmouse&d=DwMFaQ&c=U0G0XJAMhEk_X0GAGzCL7Q&r=jq3Kt3nCyjjS5FfmBgdUbJ6u_OxxnSDaX9KVvgZqo3I&m=FeFatc7IpxRZjo73tb7nl_XN_lK3wE7C41AMpAjR3RM&s=8NkogLkWNV4v8WoDmcX92QcPbjmF6jMm9yoPqyPObG8&e=>'s advice, I submitted an issue to Google's issue tracker. The issue seems to be with the way that requests without an API key are currently handled (e.g., there is now a shared quota which caused the failures that you noted). If you request a free API key from Google you can pass that API key to the apikey() parameter of ggeocode. If you do that you should have no issues: input int housenum str13 street str10 city str2 state str5 zip housenum street city state zip 1. 4287 "46th Ave N" "Robbinsdale" "MN" "55422" 2. 6675 "Old Canton Rd" "Ridgeland" "MS" "39157" 3. 12313 "33rd Ave NE" "Seattle" "WA" "98125" 4. 310 "Cahir St" "Providence" "RI" "02903" 5. 22 "Oaklawn Ave" "Cranston" "RI" "02920" 6. 61 "Pine St" "Attleboro" "MA" "02703" 7. 10 "Larkspur Rd" "Warwick" "RI" "02886" 8. 91 "Fallon Ave" "Providence" "RI" "02908" 9. 195 "Arlington Ave" "Providence" "RI" "02906" 10. end . ggeocode housenum street city state zip, api(XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX) . li +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | housenum street city state zip lat lon | |--------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 1. | 4287 46th Ave N <https://maps.google.com/?q=4287+46th+Ave+N&entry=gmail&source=g> Robbinsdal MN 55422 45.039041 -93.334852 | 2. | 6675 Old Canton Rd Ridgeland MS 39157 <https://maps.google.com/?q=6675+Old+Canton+Rd+Ridgeland+MS+39157&entry=gmail&source=g> 32.405078 -90.108584 | 3. | 12313 33rd Ave NE Seattle WA 98125 <https://maps.google.com/?q=12313+33rd+Ave+NE+Seattle+WA+98125&entry=gmail&source=g> 47.717745 -122.29312 | 4. | 310 Cahir St Providence RI 02903 <https://maps.google.com/?q=310+Cahir+St+Providence+RI+02903&entry=gmail&source=g> 41.817465 -71.418362 | 5. | 22 Oaklawn Ave Cranston RI 02920 <https://maps.google.com/?q=22+Oaklawn+Ave+Cranston+RI+02920&entry=gmail&source=g> 41.774516 -71.467927 | |--------------------------------------------------------------------------------| 6. <https://maps.google.com/?q=6.+%7C+61+Pine+St+Attleboro+MA+02703&entry=gmail&source=g>| <https://maps.google.com/?q=6.+%7C+61+Pine+St+Attleboro+MA+02703&entry=gmail&source=g> 61 Pine St Attleboro MA 02703 <https://maps.google.com/?q=6.+%7C+61+Pine+St+Attleboro+MA+02703&entry=gmail&source=g> 41.941775 -71.281748 | 7. <https://maps.google.com/?q=7.+%7C+10+Larkspur+Rd+Warwick+RI+02886&entry=gmail&source=g>| <https://maps.google.com/?q=7.+%7C+10+Larkspur+Rd+Warwick+RI+02886&entry=gmail&source=g> 10 Larkspur Rd Warwick RI 02886 <https://maps.google.com/?q=7.+%7C+10+Larkspur+Rd+Warwick+RI+02886&entry=gmail&source=g> 41.722903 -71.460397 | 8. | 91 Fallon Ave Providence RI 02908 <https://maps.google.com/?q=91+Fallon+Ave+Providence+RI+02908&entry=gmail&source=g> 41.834768 -71.443153 | 9. <https://maps.google.com/?q=9.+%7C+195+Arlington+Ave+Providence+RI+02906&entry=gmail&source=g>| <https://maps.google.com/?q=9.+%7C+195+Arlington+Ave+Providence+RI+02906&entry=gmail&source=g> 195 Arlington Ave Providence RI 02906 <https://maps.google.com/?q=9.+%7C+195+Arlington+Ave+Providence+RI+02906&entry=gmail&source=g> 41.835871 -71.39533 | +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_wbuchanan_StataJSON_issues_27-23issuecomment-2D367644246&d=DwMFaQ&c=U0G0XJAMhEk_X0GAGzCL7Q&r=jq3Kt3nCyjjS5FfmBgdUbJ6u_OxxnSDaX9KVvgZqo3I&m=FeFatc7IpxRZjo73tb7nl_XN_lK3wE7C41AMpAjR3RM&s=E62qAGnTgmCtJJyXMpYjjwKWapqfzkIec6nolGQDZAE&e=>, or mute the thread <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_notifications_unsubscribe-2Dauth_Ah5Y282b6sh2Ee0MjSqQ21STQ9ELXy-2D0ks5tXUcNgaJpZM4Rh-2DNM&d=DwMFaQ&c=U0G0XJAMhEk_X0GAGzCL7Q&r=jq3Kt3nCyjjS5FfmBgdUbJ6u_OxxnSDaX9KVvgZqo3I&m=FeFatc7IpxRZjo73tb7nl_XN_lK3wE7C41AMpAjR3RM&s=64vPzyeN5g0ZvzbmERCWZ9LuuZeFZVQHMthBeZ6awV4&e=> .

[wbuchanan]

@mh5046a
In the example above I had included a bunch of debugging messages in the Java source code and found that when a value is passed to the apikey parameter the java binary didn't construct the URL with : &key= but used key=. So the query string wasn't being constructed correctly. I can try checking on things again since I just installed all of this again on a work machine. I'll let you know if I was able to get things to work form that machine.

[wbuchanan]

@mh5046a
I just uninstalled all versions of brewscheme and strutil and jsonio from the workmachine and freshly installed jsonio:

net inst jsonio, from(http://wbuchanan.github.io/StataJSON) replace

I ran the same example that was listed above with my API key on that other machine and it worked with out a problem. You may have multiple versions of jsonio on your system. You can use ado, find(jsonio) to see how many versions you might have on your system. When you enter which jsonio into your machine you should see *! v 0.0.8 as the version number. If you don't see that version number you need to update the version of jsonio using the command above.